Unisys transfers DOE Idaho lab employees to the cloud

Unisys Corp. will install cloud-based Google Apps for Government for some 5,000 Energy Department lab employees in Idaho under a 10-year contract with a potential value of more than $10 million.

Unisys Corp. will move 5,000 Energy Department lab employees to a cloud-based e-mail and collaboration solution under a 10-year contract that has a potential value of more than $10 million if all options are exercised.

Under the contract, users at Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory will receive Google Apps for Government, a cloud-based platform designed to allow the employees to share IT infrastructure, resources, and applications and help them collaborate internally and externally, according to an Oct. 25 Unisys announcement.

The solution also will provide secure access to e-mail and data at reduced operational costs, allowing lab employees to work more efficiently with improved system uptime and availability, the announcement said.

Once the implementation phase is complete, Unisys will continue to provide operations and maintenance of the cloud-based environment.

In addition to Google, subcontractors Tempus Nova and CRI Advantage will team with Unisys on the project.

The contract was awarded to Unisys by the Battelle Energy Alliance LLC, DOE’s management and operations contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory, one of the 10 multi-program national labs responsible for operations within the department.

Unisys in July transitioned 17,000 General Services Administration employees to the Google Apps for Government, making GSA the first federal government agency to migrate all its employees to a cloud-based e-mail environment.

Unisys Corp., of Blue Bell, Pa., ranks No. 40 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.