The Australian government has signed a new five-year agreement with IBM, giving the multinational AU$1 billion to be a whole-of-government "technology partner", effective immediately.
The agreement, which is the largest ever IT contract signed by the federal government to date, will see IBM provide hardware, software, and cloud-based solutions, and also includes joint innovation programs in quantum computing, cybersecurity, and research, touted by the government as furthering its digital transformation agenda.
It is expected all government agencies will have access to the tech under the billion-dollar agreement; however for the agencies that already have extensive money invested in IBM -- the Department of Human Services[1], the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Home Affairs, and the Department of Defence[2] -- IBM said the agreement "improves the current arrangements and gives them the autonomy and flexibility to change the profile of their technology over the next five years".
According to Big Blue, this will make it easier, more efficient, and cost-effective to access emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and quantum computing.
Although the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) led the agreement, it is currently attempting to spread the AU$6.5 billion[3] spent annually on IT by the Australian government across the smaller players by refreshing the way the government procures IT-related services.
The idea is to open access to government contracts by refreshing the archaic panel procurement [4] process, as one example.
That aside, under the arrangement, IBM and the DTA will convene a group made up of government and industry folk to "prioritise the introduction of new technologies to citizen services".