Di Data wins $40M Centrelink contract

Dimension Data won a $40 million contract to refresh Centrelink’s entire network infrastructure.

Over the next five years, DiData will provide Centrelink with Cisco IP converged network core routers and switching products.

Senetas and RSA Security will provide products like encryption and public key infrastructure (PKI).

Steve Nola, Australian CEO, Di Data said the company has had a long standing relationship with Centrelink.

“We worked on its first network upgrade in 1993, then known as the Department of Social Security,” Nola said. “A number of our current team members worked on the design of this original network.”

He also said this was a significant win as Centrelink’s IT environment supports 25,000 employees using 35,000 screens across around than 1000 service delivery points.

This also includes 316 Customer Service Centres, seven Remote Area Service Centres, 360 Centrelink agents, 178 access points and 26 call centres –receiving more than 32.6 million calls per year.

Centrelink opened the tender on 19 August 2005 and closed it on September 19 2005. DiData and Centrelink signed a contract the January 18 2006.

A spokesperson for Centrelink said, it had evaluated all compliant technologies submitted through the open tender process before awarding the contract to Di Data. Its use of Cisco technology represented the best value for money.

Previously, maintenance services and hardware for Centrelink's data network was sourced from various Cisco resellers.