The Australian Customs Service today confirmed it had renewed its IT outsourcing agreement with business and technology solutions provider EDS, extending it for the second time in a AU$193 million contract.
Observers predict that Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of global outsourcer EDS for US$13.9 billion this week will bring a boost to the Australian integrated services market, but also warn the new Australian entity that its rivals will try to take advantage of the transition here.
After three years of losing large chunks from multi-billion dollar IT outsourcing deals, EDS's managing director Chris Mitchell is placing his bets on Defence to bolster the company.
Australian Customs' CIO, Murray Harrison, says service level agreements (SLAs) don't work in outsourcing arrangements and when vendors use the term "innovation", their suggestions generally works against the interests of the customer.
update: The Australian Customs Service has dished out the first slice of work resulting from the lapsing of a giant AU$550 million outsourcing deal with EDS, awarding a AU$160 million mainframe processing contract to IBM.
Sometimes companies create advertising campaigns that look and sound fantastic but on closer inspection are a real embarrassment -- and tech companies are often the worst offenders.
If there's one jurisdiction that can claim to have learned from harsh experience in outsourcing, it's South Australia. Here's hoping others are paying close attention to how it applies those lessons.
Does anyone seriously believe that Australian businesses and government agencies manage security any better than the US or UK?
ANZ CIO Peter Dalton thinks the bank may have an answer to improve retention of key IT staff -- send them to other companies.
Telecom New Zealand last week stopped Web sites all over the world from hosting a satirical version of one of its recent television ads.
Australian Customs CIO Murray Harrison dislikes SLAs and runs away if a vendor talks to him about innovation. In this interview, he also explains why getting excited about gadgets can be dangerous and talks about how Customs' outsourcing strategy has evolved.
Siebel Systems will announce today in the US that the first company to complete installation of its latest customer relationship management system is IT services giant Electronic Data Systems.
The Bank of Queensland is in the midst of a $480 million outsourcing partnership with EDS which has seen the bank's profits double in the last three years.
As storage volumes escalate, companies are weighing up the risks and benefits of outsourcing storage. Additional reading: Seven deadly sins of data warehouse development
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is on the rise, with traditional IT services companies moving into this space. ZDNet Australia looks at what is happening in this emerging market.
Microsoft wants customers to "overcome their fear" regarding security and proceed with wireless implementations.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 is the best tool available for dictating text and commanding a Web browser by voice, despite the gradual adjustments needed to conform to your personal manner of speaking.
New programs are to be aimed at encouraging software makers to produce applications for the next version of Office.
Who needs colour? Sometimes all you need is a black-and-white printer that can churn out the pages fast. We test your options.
Microsoft this week gave customers a look at forthcoming development and management tools that are part of the company's long-term plans for the product.
Visa CIO touts new transaction technologies
Michael Dreyer, CIO of Visa, expresses what innovation means to him in different areas, such as their PayWave … Watch it now
Australian Govt funds IT start-ups
Google should come clean on datacentres
US shows what OPEL could have been
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