ASG Group scores AU$75m Main Roads WA IT services contract

Main Roads Western Australia has awarded a contract to ASG Group for the provision of IT infrastructure and systems services, with the original contract value listed to be an estimated AU$75 million.

Under the contract that has an initial expiry of three years, and a final expiry date of July 2024, ASG said it will provide applications and infrastructure managed services, which will be critical to the work of the authority, including customised applications support and maintenance for over 100 applications.

Additionally, ASG will also be providing the state government entity with Dynamics 365 CRM, Sharepoint, and Azure Support.

See also: Microsoft Australia scores whole-of-government 365 deal

On the infrastructure side, ASG said the deal will also involve service desk and desktop support; server, storage, and database; network support; security devices; and traffic control system support.

"Main Roads WA has successfully worked with ASG in jointly providing software services to the business for a number of years," Main Roads WA CEO Carmelo Naso said.

"The new contract we have now established with ASG represents an innovative approach within WA government and we look forward repeating our success in working with ASG on this much broader front."

In announcing the contract, ASG said it has been engaged by Main Roads on a broad range of software projects over many years, saying the initiatives have resulted in more efficient IT systems.

"With more than 300 highly skilled staff in Perth, ASG Group has been able to identify significant value-add opportunities that will allow Main Roads to further develop its operational and governance models," ASG Group CEO Dean Langenbach said.

"These value-add opportunities include improved support to help deliver better quality services and enhanced strategic coordination, to ensure our clients are future-proof -- and providing the most effective service they can for their customers".

The Main Roads contract follows a deal with electricity and energy provider Western Power, where the company is also the government entity's implementation partner for Microsoft Dynamics365.

ASG Group was in 2016 wholly acquired by Japan's Nomura Research Institute (NRI). NRI paid approximately AU$349 million for 100% ownership of the company that was listed on the ASX.

Main Roads follows other WA government entities heading down a digital transformation path, with Western Australia's Health Support Services (HSS) last month announcing it will be transitioning its 500 sites to Microsoft Office 365, as part of its state-wide hybrid cloud shift.

The Microsoft transition is taking place alongside WA Health's hybrid cloud shift, with HSS in March signing a AU$124 million, five year deal with Atos to transition the current legacy infrastructure.

Australian business technology services provider Data#3 was in May handed two contracts for the supply of Microsoft software to the state government.

Meanwhile, the WA Department of Finance in March announced it had moved a number of its systems to the cloud following its transition to Microsoft Azure.

The department enlisted Microsoft in 2017 to make the transition to cloud computing as part of the whole-of-government GovNext-ICT initiative, which aims to shift the state government towards new network, cloud, security technologies in order to streamline operations and provide better customer services.

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