The announcement of the deal, which is dependant on regular performance reviews, comes in the midst of the redeployment of 400 IBM GSA staff. A spokesperson for IBM GSA said it was too early to tell whether the deal would create any extra employment opportunities.
The deal is a significant increase over previous deals between the Optus and IBM, which have had an outsourcing arrangement since 1992. It includes application development, enhancement and maintenance of Optus' IT systems, Customer Care, Billing and Enterprise Resource Planning. Some elements are new, whereas others have superceded older agreements.
Optus have announced a major reduction in costs over the next two years, but declined to give precise figures or indicate whether the customer would see a price reduction.
"These are offerings which make us more efficient," Optus spokesperson Stephen Woodhill told ZDNet Australia. "These efficiencies are things which will benefit our business customers."
