Massive Microsoft migration for Australia Post

Under Australia Post's 'refresh program', the existing NT 4.0 Workstation and Server environments will make way for Windows XP Professional, Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003 and Systems Management Server 2003.

EDS, which had no existing relationship with the mail services organisation, scored the win via its three-month-old EDS Agility Alliance program, the company said in a statement. Financial terms for the 12-month contract were not disclosed.

Agility Alliance technology partners, particularly Microsoft, helped secure four of the five 'refresh' contracts -- infrastructure, management and coordination, user experience and training, and business applications, EDS said.

The fifth contract -- for hardware -- has yet to be determined, said Australia Post spokesperson Elizabeth Rich. She declined to reveal who EDS' competition were.

In the statement, Mark Howard, Australia Post general manager for corporate infrastructure services, said EDS' experience with major organisations such as the Commonwealth Bank and Australian Tax Office (ATO) was important during the decision-making process.

"The business relationship represents an exciting new phase for Australia Post and provides an opportunity to look at how we manage technology across the organisation by implementing an IT infrastructure that makes it easier to roll out new business initiatives and streamline computing activities," Howard said.

Microsoft declined to comment on the contract. However, a spokesperson referred ZDNet Australia  to EDS, which couldn't be contacted since this morning.

The EDS win comes on the back of major contract extensions with the ATO and Bank of Queensland.