Australia's Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) has signed a new three-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The agreement is for whole-of-government services and builds on the previous 2019 deal awarded to AWS.
Revealed by the DTA today, January 31, the agreement will see AWS provide support for Australian Public Service technology and cloud upskilling, offer services through a standardized contracting framework, and expand benefits to all levels of government, including local councils, State and Federal Governments, and all public sector entities.
Chris Fechner, CEO of DTA, said: “With over 140 Commonwealth, state, and territory public sector agencies currently using AWS to support service delivery in areas such as transport, health, education, and tax, this new whole-of-government arrangement improves the value, reliability, and security of cloud services in government.
“The new AWS arrangement will drive better contract performance, vendor accountability, and maximize value.”
The agreement is hoped to reduce the time, effort, and resources needed to procure AWS services and support individual agencies in negotiations.
Louise Stigwood, MD for AWS Public Sector in Australia and New Zealand, said: "AWS is pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with the Australian Government through this new and enhanced whole-of-government arrangement. This arrangement includes access to more than 240 AWS services including leading Artificial Intelligence (AI), security, and quantum technologies to enable faster delivery of citizen-centric services.”
The DTA in Australia has previously awarded IBM a five-year AU$725 million (US$501.4m) whole-of-government agreement to give government agencies increased access to IBM products and services, including hardware, software, cloud services, and professional services.
In June of last year, reports emerged that AWS was building a data center for Australia's government that would handle top-secret information. The data center and cloud system are being developed as a partnership between AWS and the Australian government, and the latter will invest A$2 billion (US$1.3bn) in the new system over the next ten years.
