WA reboots IT infrastructure buying after GovNext's end

Western Australia's planned reboot of its whole-of-government buying scheme for technology hardware and services will "commence in mid-2025", replacing the discontinued GovNext ICT scheme.

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The state’s Department of Finance confirmed to iTnews that it will launch a fresh technology infrastructure and solutions panel this June, replacing the now-defunct GovNext common use arrangement (CUA), which was officially retired in April 2024 after nearly a decade in use.

The new arrangement will be split into three panels: one for networking and data centre equipment, including colocation services; another for hybrid IT and cloud solutions, and a third for managed services across communications and infrastructure.

The WA government announced the arrangement’s impending retirement in 2023, saying GovNext had achieved its purpose of shifting agencies towards consumption-based IT models.

Although the GovNext ICT arrangement is still listed online with an expiry date of April 19 2025, a finance department spokesperson told iTnews that the arrangement had effectively ceased.

The scheme underwent a year-long “disengagement period”.

Procurements made under the prior version of GovNext continue until their expiry, with any adjustments requiring a formal "order change".

Suppliers previously providing voice and data services under GovNext ICT were shifted to a separate telecommunications solutions arrangement, which encompasses mobile and satellite telecommunications services, alongside hardware and billing management solutions.