Explosives and chemicals manufacturer Orica Australia has outsourced its data centre management to Origin Australia in a $35 million, five-year deal.
Both Origin and Fujitsu were shortlisted for the contract, which covers management of Orica's data centre in Noble Park, Melbourne.
The deal includes support for Orica's mainframe and Unix platforms, and is Orica's first major IT outsourcing initiative.
Deloittes Consulting assisted Orica, formerly known as ICI Australia, with the tendering process.
Rosa Dall'Armi, services manager of Orica IT shared services, said the company believes the outsourcing contract will result in cost savings over its five-year termDall'Armi also commented that outsourcing data centre operations would let in-house Orica IT staff focus on application support for SAP R/3, which it is currently extending to its consumer products division.
Origin's "demonstrated knowledge and capability in SAP" was a drawcard, said Dall'Armi. "[SAP} is a key strategic platform for Orica and will be a growth area for us in the future," she said.
The outsourcing contract could have scope for expansion.
"We . . . recognised that Origin would be capable of meeting Orica's global IT needs if required," Dall'Armi said.