Customs renews EDS outsourcing contract in $193m deal
Customs renews EDS outsourcing contract in $193m deal
IT outsourcing specialist EDS has had its agreement with the Australian Customs Service extended for a second time, with a new contract worth a whopping $193 million.
The 27-month extension, which will take the agreement up to June 30, 2007, covers the delivery of IT infrastructure and applications management services. The renewal takes the total value of the contract to approximately $542 million since the initial agreement was struck in March 1998.
Chris Mitchell, managing director of EDS Australia, said the extension reflected the strength of the partnership developed during the past six years.
"The Australian Customs Service is EDS' longest-standing Federal Government client and we're delighted it wants to renew the relationship," said Mitchell. "The relationship is an important one for EDS. Customs is in the final stages of implementing its new cargo management platform and needed an IT partner it could trust during this period of major change."
Mitchell said a key focus of the EDS proposal was a reduction in IT unit costs, while still delivering a quality service to Customs.
The contract was initially extended for two years in early 2002, and was due to expire in March 2005.
EDS will continue to provide similar services, including infrastructure for mainframe and mid-range platforms to host applications, desktop support, application production support and helpdesk services.
Murray Harrison, Australian Customs Service chief information officer, said: "We look forward to building and improving the relationship between Australian Customs Service and EDS over the period of this contract extension."
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