Unisys takes over IT support for defence regions

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 05 March 2009 07:32

IT Industry - Strategy

In a contract won a year ago and estimated to be worth $240 million, Unisys has now taken over IT support services for the first nine of the twelve regions for the Australian Department of Defence.

Unisys said today it had successfully transitioned IT support services to the ADF under the contract announced in February 2008, and that the progressive handover of each defence region was part of the estimated eighteen month transition period currently on schedule for completion in October 2009.
 
According to Tony Henshaw, Asia Pacific vice president, global outsourcing and infrastructure services at Unisys, when the contract is completed Unisys will provide a range of IT support services, including network security and infrastructure support, server and desktop used by civilian and military areas of the ADF across Australia. He says Unisys will also standardise IT support processes nationally.

Henshaw stressed that the Australian federal government market was strategically important for Unisys and, he said, “the company has a long history working with the Australian public sector based on our ability to work closely with government departments and agencies to improve business processes and better use resources to achieve their dual goals of high service delivery to the Australian people while being accountable for use of public funds.
 
“The transition process involved Unisys working closely with Defence and embedding Unisys transition managers and support staff onsite at the regional sites before each transition handover began.
 
“It has been a very large and complex change management challenge.  Engaging key stakeholders from the outset and developing effective communications plans have been at the heart of our success.”

Henshaw claimed that the success of the recruitment drive for the twelve regions that span 460 defence locations across Australia has been a critical factor in achieving the milestones set for the project.

“To date, Unisys has filled all of the approximately 380 positions required to support the contract nationally. More than 80 percent of the roles were filled by defence staff already involved in ICT regional service delivery to help achieve a smooth transition of the service delivery from defence to Unisys.”

Henshaw says 14 positions were filled under the Australia-wide Unisys IT Traineeship Program, established in July 2008.
 
He says the traineeship program offers participants the opportunity to continue learning while working for Unisys and Unisys has an arrangement with various state-based traineeship agencies, technical institutions and registered training organisations to provide IT trainees with the opportunity to launch their IT careers with a multinational corporation.
 
With the ADF contract, Henshaw says that in July 2008, Sydney West and South was the first region to be transitioned and was used as a pilot for the progressive roll-out of the other regions.
 
“The nine regions that have been transitioned are Central and Northern New South Wales, South Australia, South Queensland, South Victoria, Sydney Central, Sydney West and South, Riverina and Murray Valley, Western Australia and Tasmania. The three regions that remain to be transitioned in 2009 are ACT and Southern NSW, Northern Territory and Kimberley, and Northern Queensland.”

The Unisys contract with the ADF has an initial term of five years following the transition period and, according to Henshaw, there’s the potential for two future contract extensions, each of two years duration.