The Queensland Government is to spend $12 million on consolidating its technology infrastructure under its state-owned ICT services provider CITEC.
The initiative, which has seen EMC, Hewlett-Packard, Dimension Data and Communications Design Management picked up major contracts as the state pushes ahead with plans to centralise its technology at the infrastructure level, despite broadly abandoning plans to use a centralised model for IT services further up the chain — such as application services.
“Valued at $12 million, these contracts will enable consolidation of the Government’s CBD data centres, networks and infrastructure services to CITEC, the primary government IT service provider,” said ICT Minister Robert Schwarten (pictured) in a statement issued yesterday.
Under the new contracts, EMC will provide a consolidated storage and data protection solution, HP will supply datacentre automation, DiData will supply solutions around patch management and seucrity, and Communications Design management will supply a consolidated network and services solution.
Schwarten said a “very stringent procurement process” was followed before the contracts were signed.
“The rigorous tender evaluation process was supported by a series of comprehensive audits of the foundation infrastructure project’s governance, procurement processes and technology architecture to ensure the integrity and probity of this expenditure,” he said.
Tension in parliament The news came as Schwarten also went on the attack this week against John-Paul Langbroek, the Leader of the Opposition in Queensland.
The ICT minister claimed Langbroek’s party had published a new policy website, but had forgotten to include any technology policy on it — despite, Schwarten said, the area’s “huge importance for the state’s economy and jobs”.
“What sort of alternative government does not even mention ICT, with massive developments such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) about to change the face of Queensland?” asked Schwarten.
“This is a major embarrassment with Queensland about to host the 21stWorld Computer Congress in Brisbane from September 20 to 23. Over 70 ICT industry leaders will attend. It is an insult to Queensland’s suppliers of world-class ICT products and services and our talented software designers.”
Schwarten said the LNP were “technophobes, with “no interest or understanding in ICT. “When it comes to ICT, no-one knows what the LNP stands for,” he said.
The state’s shadow ICT Minister Jann Stuckey has also attacked Schwarten recently, claiming in early August that Labor couldn’t be trusted on ICT.
“As usual Minister Schwarten makes a lot of noise about Labor’s so-called ICT achievements but the results don’t match the rhetoric,” Stuckey said, pointing out Labor’s failures with the first NBN tendering process, and the damaging Queensland Health payroll debacle.
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