Northern Territory Government selects Fujitsu for $150 million desktop contract

Fujitsu Australia was today awarded a $150 million desktop and helpdesk services contract by the Northern Territory Government. The contract, which will run for four years from the 29 June 2006, will see Fujitsu, and local business partners including CSG Services, Territory Technology Solutions, Bizcom, NT Technology and Leading Edge Computers, deliver desktop and associated services to, in excess of, 17,000 Northern Territory Government users.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fujitsu has undertaken to provide higher service levels to regional and remote centres and to embark on a significant desktop and infrastructure upgrade during the first 12 months of the contract period. Fujitsu will also implement a number of initiatives over the contract term, designed to maximise local participation in the delivery of desktop and helpdesk outsourced services and to increase IT skills in the Northern Territory.

Fujitsu’s appointment follows a competitive tender in which Fujitsu was selected as the preferred tenderer on 17 February 2006 over incumbent CSC Australia, Hewlett Packard and Unisys Australia.

Responding to the Northern Territory Government’s request for improved service delivery to rural and remote areas of the Territory, Fujitsu will provide a unique level of service and support by using aeroplanes to service remote sites. This will be facilitated through the introduction of monthly or bimonthly scheduled site visits to remote regions and a fly-in response to meet incident resolution service level agreements. Fujitsu aims to also improve the effectiveness of the Northern Territory Government desktop environment for users and reduce downtime through the use of zero touch provisioning and a centralised redundant file and print server solution that is aimed to significantly reduce downtime.

In addition, Fujitsu will implement a number of industry development programs to sustain and slightly increase current employment levels while boosting the Territory’s information and communication technologies skills base. These include: the creation of a Business Improvement Centre to improve government agency efficiency and processes; the establishment of a Web Solutions Centre (a physical extension of Fujitsu’s Web Solutions Centre successfully established in Perth two years ago) to deliver web solution and hosting services to Fujitsu clients in Darwin, Australia and South East Asia; the establishment of a refurbishment centre for the purpose of refurbishing desktops that will either be donated within the Northern Territory or exported; and three initiatives aimed at enhancing ICT education from pre-school to graduate levels.

Rod Vawdrey, Chief Executive Officer, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand said, “Fujitsu has proven experience on a global scale in managing and delivering integrated desktop and helpdesk solutions and world class toolsets and processes. By combining this global experience in desktop management with the local knowledge and expertise of our business partners CSG Services, Territory Technology Solutions, Bizcom, NT Technology and Leading Edge Computers, we have developed a solution which we believe raises the bar for the provision of desktop services in Australia.”

Peter McFarlane, Executive General Manager, Infrastructure Services, Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand said, “The Northern Territory Government win is true testament to Fujitsu’s unique approach of bringing innovation to outsourcing arrangements, throughout the lifetime of the contract. We look forward to a successful transition over the coming months and to working with the Northern Territory Government in helping them meet their business requirements over the next four years.”

Dr Chris Burns, Corporate and Information Services Minister, Northern Territory Government said, “Fujitsu met the overall requirements of the contract, by providing the best value for taxpayers’ money while meeting the business requirements of the agencies. In particular, Fujitsu has demonstrated how they propose to deliver unprecedented levels of service to regional and remote Northern Territory Government sites and to further foster the ICT industry’s growth in the Territory with a comprehensive industry development program.”