Government agency tasked with enforcing US election campaign financing laws has signed a US$9.8m contract with Savvis for colocation, managed hosting, security, network and professional services.

Under the five-year contract, Savvis will provide services to the Federal Election Commission out of two of its US data centers. Services include hosting the commission's website www.fec.gov and disaster recovery solutions.

David Shacochis, VP of global public sector at Savvis, said in a statement that the company was "uniquely positioned to support federal agencies as they expand government relations into online, interactive channels."

Savvis has provided services to the FEC since 2006, but after that contract expired, the company had to compete with other bidders for the recent deal.

This is not the only federal agency Savvis serves. Its other government clients include the Small Business Administration and the National Labor Relations Board.

In October 2010, the General Services Administration awarded Savvis a contract to provide cloud-based services to federal, state and local government agencies.

The company's public-sector business does not stop at the US borders. In the UK, for example, the company is providing services to the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.

Savvis is currently in the process of being acquired by the large US telecom CenturyLink. CenturyLink announced in April the agreement to buy Savvis for about $2.5bn, or $40 per share.