NHMRC speeds towards Outlook 2010 upgrade

Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council is readying itself for a migration to Outlook 2010 and Office Communications Server, making it potentially one of the first Federal Government agencies to shift to the newest version of Microsoft's communications applications.

This week, the NHRMC upgraded its procurement plan documents and said that it would be approaching the market for proposals on the upgrade in the first quarter of calendar year 2011.

Previously, procurement for the migration was not scheduled to happen this financial year.

A spokesperson for the council said that while the procurement activity had been moved forward, that didn't necessarily signal that the process would happen quickly.

"This is not a 'fast-track', but an estimated timeframe within the period of the procurement plan," the spokesperson said. "Actual roll-out will depend on the service provider selected and business needs."

The upgrade would impact around 200 staff at the NHRMC, which works to identify priority areas for health research and improvement.