The Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) has distributed a circular informing agencies that they must not enter into any agreement with Microsoft for the supply of software extending beyond 30 June 2013. Negotiations are currently underway to establish a new Volume Sourcing Arrangement between Microsoft and the Commonwealth by this date.
AGIMO has also announced that it has made the first adjustments to its suite of whole-of-government ICT panels. The underperforming accessories category of the Telecommunications, Carriage and Associated Services (mobile) panel has been permanently removed, but AGIMO remains confident that the arrangement is still providing value for money for the procurement of mobile voice and data carriage services.
The Department of Human Services says that a $64.6 million contract it has signed with SAP will cover a range of functions, including human resources, finance, business demand management, compliance, and customer relationship management.
“The department already has a significant SAP platform, and this agreement will help to ensure smooth and flexible integration of new and expanded systems that will accommodate future business strategic directions,” said a spokesman.
Thales has been awarded a $7.8 million software services contract with the Department of Defence. Under the agreement the vendor will provide support for the design, development and implementation of a Secret Defence eBusiness Infrastructure at Defence. The program will further the implementation of a service oriented architecture at the ‘Secret’ level of the Department’s classified network.
Defence has also entered into its third standing offer agreement (SOA)under the whole-of-government Major Office Machines panel, this time with Kyocera Document Solutions. The Department has previously established similar SOAs with other panellists Lexmark and Ricoh.
Applications are now open to take on the role of Chief Executive Officer overseeing the five-year roll-out of the NSW Government’s new customer-service organisation Service NSW. As has been reported by Intermedium, the Department of Premier and Cabinet has already made a number of approaches to market to establish significant ICT infrastructure in support of the program.
The Tasmanian Government has awarded major contracts for its state-wide telecommunications provision to MyNetFone and Telstra. The contracts will cover services relating to carriage, IP-Based services and associated call charges (MyNetFone) and traditional POTS, ISDN and Inbound telephony carriage services (Telstra).
Each contract is valued at $6 million for the 3 year term. The State Government intends to make an announcement regarding a related tender, for the provision of a private voice network, in the near future.
The Department of Health and Ageing has opened its Specialist Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Panel up to multi-agency access, and 12 other Federal health bodies have jumped on board, including the National Blood Authority and the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority.
More indicators that an organic expansion of shared services is underway in the Federal Government have emerged. The Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding worth $600,000 with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy for shared services in the areas of human resources, information technology and financial services.
More than one million Australian tax payers had already lodged their 2012 return via e-Tax at the beginning of August according to the Australian Taxation Office, which added that this milestone has come a week earlier than it did in 2011 for them.
The Bundaberg Regional Council is advertising for a new Chief Information Officer. Applications close 13 August 2012.
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