Tanner picks stopgap datacentre panel

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has revealed the five companies that will help the government with its datacentre needs until it can get its whole-of-government strategy up and running.

Sir Peter Gershon and Lindsay Tanner.
(Credit: Brian Hartigan)

Canberra Data Centres, Fujitsu Australia, Global Switch Property Australia, Harbour MSP and Polaris Data Centres have been appointed to a panel from which agencies will be able to source datacentre facilities and services.

Sir Peter Gershon had said in his report on the state of the Federal Government's IT that a whole-of-government approach to datacentres was required to prevent the government being forced into a series of ad-hoc investments over the next 15 years which could cost taxpayers over $1 billion more than it should. However, the time required to set up such a strategy had the potential to put some agencies in a tight spot.

"In his review, Sir Peter Gershon foresaw the need for interim arrangements to be put in place to assist agencies in continuing to deliver government services," Tanner said in a statement.

Tanner believed that only a few agencies would need to use the short-term resources offered by the panel.

The government's strategy was progressing well, he said. A report on the strategy's development was expected by the end of the year based on consultations with the industry.