Tanner on the hunt for interim data centres

Data centres to help government carry on with Gershon strategy

Kathryn Edwards (Computerworld)
29 May, 2009 13:54
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The Rudd Government has called for expressions of interest to create a panel of providers for supplying data centre space and services.

Following up on recommendations made in the Gershon report, the supply would assist the government during the development of its whole-of-government data centre strategy.

Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner, in a press release, said the expression of interest from the IT industry was for an interim supply of data centre facilities and services.

“The Rudd Government is developing a comprehensive strategy to deliver the maximum benefit from our investment and utilisation of data centre resources over the next 10 to 15 years,” Tanner said.

“We have already had extensive interactions with industry and agencies to inform this strategy and are considering all the options available to us.”

Panel applicants can offer data centre facilities that are purpose-built, energy efficient and that cater to different operational requirements in or outside of the ACT.

The facilities must provide floor space of between 1000m2 and 2000m2 or a minimum size of 500m2 per site if providing more than one facility. The facility must also be available for fit out within the 09/10 financial year.

In April 2008, Tanner asked Sir Peter Gershon to lead an independent review of the federal government's use and management of ICT.

The review, released in the following October, criticised the government’s ICT marketplace as “neither efficient nor effective”.

The whole-of-government data centre strategy will be considered by the government later in the year.

Expressions of interest close June 22 and further information is available here.