Aussie dept of Immigration lets virtual IT check in

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Unisys Australian subsidiary has received contract extensions from the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for the current engagements where Unisys provides outsourced desktop services, and biometric and identity management solutions.

A press note adds that Unisys increases first call resolution by the service desk and aims to cut number of servers from 107 to eight via new virtualization project.

Unisys has been awarded a two year extension to continue to provide outsourced desktop services to DIAC through June 2013. The value of the products and services to be provided by Unisys during the extension is estimated at approximately AUD$49.8 million (USD$39.7 million). As part of the extended desktop services contract, Unisys has recently begun virtualising the IT infrastructure supporting the Department’s national office.

DIAC has also awarded Unisys a 12 month contract extension to continue to provide biometric identity authentication solutions through August 2010. The extension will allow DIAC to purchase up to approximately AUD$2.9 million (USD$2.3 million) of biometric identity services from Unisys.

Tony Henshaw, Asia Pacific Vice President, Global Outsourcing and Infrastructure Services, Unisys says, “Better IT support allows DIAC personnel to focus on managing the needs of people visiting or seeking to settle in Australia, and the movement of refugees into Australian territory.”

The Unisys desktop outsourcing contract began in 2007 and covers selected end-user computing services including service desk operations, business support services and applications support as well as secure email and internet services. It helps advance the department’s strategic objective to simplify the IT environment and services that support it.

“Unisys currently provides services for approximately more than 7,000 DIAC staff nationally, as well as staff in more than 60 locations overseas. Prior to Unisys operating the service desk, there was no single point of contact for IT related issues. Since commencing the contract, Unisys has increased the proportion of first call resolutions by the service desk, recorded improved customer satisfaction and handled approximately 175,000 calls as part of more than 200,000 total contacts per year. Unisys has also helped the department improve web site performance and reduce spam email.”

Through virtualization, Unisys is simplifying DIAC’s IT environment, replacing 107 existing servers with eight new ones and providing assessment, design and implementation services, as well as required hardware. The virtualized IT infrastructure supports the DIAC staff’s daily end-user computing functions including email, personal and shared storage resources and print services. The virtualized environment is designed to reduce power consumption and the physical footprint of the data centre, and lower infrastructure costs while maintaining data security.

Under the biometric-identity authentication solutions contract extension, Unisys is providing solutions and services as part of DIAC’s national Biometrics for Border Control Program, says the company. Unisys is responsible for supplying systems that will allow immigration officials to authenticate an individual’s identity through facial images and fingerprinting. The original contract began in 2006.