Pair of Unisys contracts extended Down Under
The award extentions have a combined value of $42 million
Unisys Corp. has won two contract extensions from the Australian government for outsourcing services and biometric identity solutions, which together are worth $42 million.
Under a two-year extension from the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Unisys will continue to provide outsourced desktop services through June 2013.
As part of the extended desktop services contract, the company recently began virtualizing the information technology infrastructure at DIAC’s national office, according to a company announcement.
Through virtualization, Unisys is replacing 107 existing DIAC servers with eight new ones and providing assessment, design and implementation services, as well as required hardware.
The virtualized IT infrastructure supports daily end-user computing functions including email, personal and shared storage resources and print services.
The new environment is designed to reduce power consumption and the physical footprint at the data center, and lower infrastructure costs while maintaining data security, the announcement explained.
The value of the products and services provided by Unisys during the extension is estimated at approximately AUD$49.8 million (US$39.7 million).
The Unisys desktop outsourcing contract began in 2007 and covers selected end-user computing services including service desk operations, business support services and applications support as well as secure email and Internet services.
DIAC also awarded Unisys a 12-month contract extension to allow DIAC to purchase approximately AUD$2.9 million (US$2.3 million) worth of Unisys biometric identity services through August 2010.
As part of DIAC’s national Biometrics for Border Control Program, Unisys is responsible for supplying systems that will assist immigration officials in authenticating an individual’s identity through facial images and fingerprinting. The original contract began in 2006.
Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., ranks No. 32 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.
About the Author
David Hubler is the associate editor of Washington Technology.