NSW data centre consolidation moves into gear

The NSW Government has begun preparations to move its highest demand departments to two new data centres over the coming years in a bid to consolidate its IT spend.

The Government issued a request for information (RFI) for data centre migration services late last week, a critical aspect of executing its data centre reform initiative to consolidate 130 data centres to two facilities.

The tender asked industry for advice on migration strategies to the new facilities, future data centre operating and governance models, as well as assistance with business cases, definitions and documentation.

It also included services to assist with actual migration to the facilities, such as enterprise architecture and design, analysis, as well as capacity and project planning and management.

It hoped to catalogue expert advisors and services providers across the area of data centre migration, and capable of relocating "anywhere between three and 300 racks of equipment and involving some 50 separate agencies".

Leighton Holdings subsidiary Metronode has begun construction of the facilities in Sydney and Wollongong NSW Government, connected by a fibre ring.

The facilities are expected to offer up to nine megawatts of capacity each when they open late next year, with the NSW Government securing nine megawatts in total for its own uses.

Services will be charged on a per-kilowatt basis, a relatively new concept in government IT purchasing.

The Government, as a whole, will only pay for what it uses, with guaranteed capacity slightly beyond its current requirements. This will ease pressure on the NSW Department of Finance to force agencies to adhere to its data centre reform package.

In May, ITnews revealed the deal will see the Government initially sign up to only use 3.2 megwatts of power upon completion of the facilities, with NSW Health, the Department of Education and Communities, the Department of Finance and Services and Corrections NSW all prioritised to move their major IT loads to the new facilities.

Other agencies are required to move to the consolidated facilities withing four years.