The New South Wales government announced a $93 million ICT hardware agreement to enhance government agency facilities and citizen services.
The ICT hardware arrangement, which will be adopted by all NSW government agencies, is a flexible arrangement replacing the previous 2007 contract. It will initially cover office desktops, notebooks and tablet, but will be broadened over time. The agreement will be reviewed again in April 2015.
NSW minister for finance, Greg Pearce, said the agreement supports a move to as-a-service ICT delivery—a major tenant of the state’s 2012 ICT strategy.
The $93 million figure “represents historical spend under Contract ITS 2007 Personal Computers as reported by suppliers for the period July 2011 to June 2012,” according to a for the minister.
Pearce said the new agreement revamps the procurement process and will reduce administration costs.
“In the past few months, there have been major improvements to whole-of-Government contracts and this new arrangement will see significant reforms in the way Government uses and procures ICT hardware,” he said.
“The new agreement simplifies the government tender process and removes the management fee previously levied on the supplier, cutting red tape and expense associated with doing business with Government.
Pearce said the previous system discouraged competition.
“Under the old system many suppliers were locked out of projects until the end of the contract whereas this new agreement allows suppliers to be selected and included at any time during the contract.”
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