Unisys signs Minneapolis outsourcing deal

Unisys Corp. will provide information technology outsourcing services to Minneapolis under a contract worth $48 million over five years.

Unisys began working for Minneapolis in 2003. The new pact will extend that relationship through 2012.

Under the contract, Unisys will provide services to manage the city's entire IT infrastructure, including data centers, desktop computers and mobile devices. The services include technology planning, data center management, network management and end-user support.

"Our outsourcing relationship with Unisys has enabled city government to realize significant operational efficiencies and IT cost savings," said Lynn Willenbring, chief information officer for the city. "By capitalizing on Unisys' expertise in IT management, we have been able to focus our internal IT resources on new initiatives to benefit our citizens and business community."

Unisys manages the city's virtualized server environment from the Unisys data center in Eagan, Minn. The company is undertaking an expansion project at the Eagan facility to incorporate more environmentally friendly technology and to restore some the surrounding prairie land. Unisys's virtualization technologies have reduced the number of servers the city needs by 55 percent, the company said.

Based in Blue Bell, Pa., Unisys ranks No. 27 on Washington Technology's 2007 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.