Cirrus Networks wins $13m managed service contract with Geoscience Australia

Managed services provider Cirrus Networks has been awarded a multi-year contract with Geoscience Australia worth $13 million.

Cirrus replaced DXC Technology as the agency’s managed services provider following a competitive tender, with the transition period starting immediately until May this year.

The company said it is its first “significant” managed services contract win after the recent completion of its Network Operations Centre (NOC) within its Canberra office.

The contract runs for an initial three years as well as two one year options, with Cirrus providing core workplace, networking, security and data centre services to Geoscience Australia.

“Cirrus continues to focus on growing its annuity and outsource services. This contract success, which is a direct result of those efforts, represents a transformational win for the Canberra office and our managed service business unit,” Cirrus managing director Matt Sullivan said.

“We are excited to be given the opportunity to work collaboratively with the high quality staff at Geoscience Australia and look forward to showcasing to them our innovative, agile and customer focused approach to managed services, providing them with a great user experience.”

Specifically, the managed services deal involves the following:

• Core workplace services including service desk, device management, application management, tech bar support, training and enrichment.
• Network, LAN, WAN and unified communications management and support services;
• Provision of ICT security services across the entity’s ICT environment; and
• Provision of infrastructure operations providing management, support, configuration and monitoring of the Geoscience Australia’s data centres.

Cirrus said the win presents the company an opportunity to demonstrate its benchmark
outsourcing methodology to Geoscience Australia, while also providing a reference point for other federal and state government organisations.

Geoscience Australia advises on the country’s geology and geography, which covers mineral and energy resources, resilience to hazards, managing water use, sustainable marine environments, digital mapping and as a source of geoscience data for decision making.

The contract win also follows Cirrus’ announcement on its strong H1 FY2021 results, reporting record revenue and earnings.

“Having delivered a record H1, this contract provides us with great confidence that the service focused strategy is succeeding and drives us towards our goal of being the managed service provider of choice to mid-tier government agencies and corporates delivering value for clients and shareholders alike,” Sullivan said.

“We look forward to this contract providing great outcomes for Geoscience Australia and being a springboard for further contract success within similar clients nationally.”

DXC was awarded a $20 million deal by Geoscience Australia in 2016, when it was still known as CSC Australia. The deal at the time involved services, hardware and software, and partnered with HDS, ServiceNow, AT&T and a number of global vendors.

CRN sister site iTnews reported last year that Geoscience Australia looked to replace DXC as part of a significant IT modernisation agenda, which included tackling legacy platforms.