Optus Business has announced a new three-year $13.6 million agreement with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to deliver a range of managed services aimed at increasing collaboration among staff working remotely across Australia and overseas.
Optus Business won a competitive tender to provide ICT services to the department in 2013. The contract extension will see Optus Business deliver voice, mobile and data carriage services for the department’s 5,500 tablet and mobile fleet. It will also provide managed telephony, video conferencing, unified communications and a contact-centre solution to support collaboration across the organisation’s 150 sites across Australia.
John Paitaridis, Managing Director, Optus Business said: “Having successfully transitioned and upgraded the department’s network infrastructure, we’re excited to now have the opportunity to underpin the department’s digital transformation. We’re supporting the department’s mission to ensure Australia’s agriculture, fisheries, food and forestry industries embrace new digital technologies to improve competitiveness and sustainability.”
Under the agreement, Optus Business will also deliver a suite of new collaboration tools including video conferencing and Skype for Business to further reduce the department’s reliance on paper-based workflows and accelerate their move to digital. Leveraging Optus’ national mobile network to improve mobile connectivity, the department will look to increase the productivity and efficiency of its employees operating in challenging and remote geographical areas.
Peter McKeon, the department’s Chief Information Officer, said: “Agriculture is a cornerstone of Australia’s economy. The department has a proud history of ensuring the technology and services we use meet changing industry needs. We’re pleased to continue our relationship with Optus Business to build greater digital capability across the department. By updating our critical technology platforms and investing in managed services, we’re well positioned to achieve our objectives now and into the future.”
