The contract will aggregate the government's Microsoft desktop software licences. "This will result in a saving to Victorian taxpayers of more than AU$19 million on the retail value of desktop software," said the Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Marsha Thomson.
"The contract with Microsoft provides the Victorian Government with excellent value-for-money and includes access to regular upgrades of software during the life of the contract," she added.
Microsoft's state manager, Kerstin Baxter, said that during the term of the agreement the Government is "covered for all future versions of the core products" including Windows and Office, as well as the client software for the enterprise server products. This will simplify administration and allow departments to deploy new versions when they are ready and without additional cost, she said.
"We have recognised [the Victorian Government's] previous commitment" to Microsoft software in setting the contract price, Baxter added.
The AU$5 million Microsoft e-Government Innovation Fund will be used to support the Victorian Government's 'Putting People at the Centre' vision for e-government.
The exact size of the fund depends on the number of licences taken up by the State Government, Microsoft officials said, but will be approximately AU$5 million over three or four years.
'Putting People at the Centre' was announced by Minister for Innovation, John Brumby, and Thomson, in March. Part of the government's Connecting Victoria ICT strategy, it aims to position Victoria as a global leader in innovative Government service delivery by substantially improving support and services to Victorians; providing better community engagement and more effective democracy, using innovation in finding new opportunities in service delivery, and creating a framework for ongoing reform within government. Thomson said the Victorian Government committed to providing citizens with faster and easier ways to interact with government.
"The Microsoft e-Government Innovation Fund will be used to undertake Microsoft software research and development projects focused on e-Government applications," she said. The fund "will see cutting edge research projects undertaken in Victoria and could see products developed for the global e-Government market".
While a ministerial spokesperson said the fund will be used for R&D activities within the State Government, it is not yet clear whether the money will be spent entirely in-house or if it will fund projects carried out by outside organisations on the government's behalf.
Microsoft MD Paul Houghton said: "Microsoft shares the Victorian Government's belief that technology can change the way government operates and empower citizens by making government resources available to them over the Internet."
Will this be the normal M$ tactic that any one attempting to connect to these e-applications will be required to run M$ software