NT government finalises AU$150 million desktop contract

Fujitsu, who was selected as preferred tender for the contract in February, is scheduled to commence work from 29 June. Other vendors competing for the deal included CSC, Hewlett-Packard and Unisys.

NT Minister for Corporate and Information Services Dr Chris Burns said in an e-mailed statement that Fujitsu had undertaken to provide higher service levels, "particularly to regional and remote centres".

"There will also be a significant desktop and infrastructure upgrade, with new tools, technologies and features to be completed in the first 12 months of the contract period," he added.

"Most staff who will be engaged in the delivery of services will be employed by Fujitsu's local business partners, including CSG Services, Territory Technology Solutions, Bizcom, NT Technology and Leading Edge Computers."

A statement from Fujitsu said the vendor would take some extraordinary measures to keep IT systems healthy.

"Fujitsu will provide a unique level of service and support by using aeroplanes to service remote sites," the statement said.

"This will be facilitated through the introduction of monthly or bi-monthly scheduled site visits to remote regions and a fly-in response to meet incident resolution service level agreements."

Apart from providing for the territory's pure support needs, Fujitsu will also take a number of other initiatives, including the establishment of a business improvement centre to help improve government agency efficiency and processes, and initiatives aimed at enhancing ICT education.