DHS hands IBM a $484m technology contract

The Department of Human Services has awarded IBM a five-year, $484 million contract to deliver technology and services to support a range of digital government programs.

The technology provided by IBM will support government projects including the myGov online interface to the ATO, Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support systems, as well as the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record project.

Announcing the contract, Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge said the government needs integrated and cognitive technology to progress in the digital age, allowing it to rapidly transform, streamline services and constantly adapt to customer needs.

“The contract will enable the government to realign hardware, software and services to critical areas of need,” he said.

“This will ultimately achieve savings for the taxpayer while delivering better outcomes for Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support recipients [and] ensure the government is prepared to transition to new infrastructure with more dynamic capability to support future programs.”

The department managed 123.9 million self-service transactions and delivered $165.8 billion in payments to customers and providers in the 2014–15 financial year, Tudge said. This requires an efficient and robust IT environment.

Image courtesy of Leonid Mamchenkov under CC