ASX-listed IT services provider, ASG Group (ASX:ASZ) has picked up a five-year $35 million contract with Western Power and unveiled a new data centre.
Under the deal, ASG will provide mid-range infrastructure, VoIP and network services to the Western Australian electricity utility. Western Power will also be one of the foundation customers at the new ASG data centre facility.
In a statement to the ASX, Western Power CIO Leigh Sprlyan welcomed the deal.
”Western Power has adopted a multi-sourcing strategy, partnering with leading service providers to provide essential IT services to our business,” Sprlyan said.
“ASG demonstrated the flexibility and creativity we were seeking to support our IT transformation, in the face of strong competition from other key industry vendors.”
ASG Chief Officer Sales and Strategic Operations Murray Rosa told Computerworld the service provider would take on some Western Power staff as part of the deal and the data centre had been purpose built to target future opportunities.
"Data centres are in short supply at a national level and we have been getting a lot of requests and questions from the market place around whether we can provide certain services in the areas of shared services, SaaS, cloud computing, and smart technologies," he said. "We have made a decision to move out of our city office and are building or investing in a data centre that above it is all the office space we need."
The service provider also recently scooped a $23 million deal with the Department of Education in Western Australia.
ASG will take care of the department's Oracle applications, database administration and server operations for three years with two one-year extensions available.
"We have a number of irons in the fire at the moment that we feel very confident about and there will be further announcements over the next few weeks," Rosa said.
In December, Western Power said it will pilot a new smart infrastructure project, SmartGrid-Advanced Meter Infrastructure, aimed at delivering more reliable, sustainable and cost effective energy to homes and businesses in the south-west of Western Australia.
The energy supplier has signed IBM as its systems integration and project management partner for the intelligent network comprising smart meters and a communications backbone.