Queensland Rail picks DXC for $94m IT services shakeup

Queensland Rail has chosen DXC Technology as its sole provider of IT managed services as part of a project aimed at ditching its existing IT infrastructure ownership model for the cloud.

In a radical shakeup of its existing service provider environment, the government-owned rail operator has signed a $94 million deal with the IT services company to provide core IT services for just under the next 10 years.

It covers the complete spectrum of core IT services, including service integration, service management, end user compute services, managed application services, printing services, ICT security services and infrastructure and cloud services.

QR's customer service and innovation executive general manager Natalie Roach told iTnews the partnership – which runs until July 2028 – will see the agency “consolidate its existing ICT operations”.

She said the partnership would lead to “upgrades to the organisation’s existing ICT processes and systems”, while also “improv[ing] security quality, governance and control”.

The single supplier model is also expected to deliver cost efficiencies, as well as “opportunities for new technology platforms including secure cloud-based infrastructure and enhanced monitoring of ICT systems.”

Queensland Rail went looking for one or more suppliers to refresh and consolidate its existing IT operations in June 2018, with the intention of ditching ownership of IT infrastructure for a cloud-based operating model.

The company wanted to address challenges that stemmed from managing service integration from a number of internal and external providers.

IT services are currently delivered by the agency’s internal provider ‘ICT’ and several managed services providers including Logica, which has provided data centres, service desk and on-site field support and application management since 2012.

“ICT is seeking to address this challenge by ceasing to have director ownership of IT infrastructure in preference to private and public cloud services,” the agency said in tender documents last year.

It said this would begin with “an immediate sale of data centre assets” and gradual replacement of “expendable items such as desktops by fully packaged ‘as a service’ offerings”.

Service integration and service management will be the first tranche of services to transition under the deal.

Roach said this transition would commence shortly and is expected to be completed by mid-2019.

Managed application services, end user compute services, infrastructure and cloud services and security operations are then expected to transition between July 2019 and January 2020.