Telstra unveils $1.2B IT vendor agreements

It has awarded expanded application development and maintenance services contracts to EDS and Infosys.

 The estimated base spend of the combined application development and maintenance (AD&M) agreements is $450m over five years.  IBM remains a strategic partner in this domain.

It has also announced that IBM has been awarded a renewed IT Operations Services Agreement (ITOPSA) managing Telstra's infrastructure. The contract is worth an estimated $745m over five years.

John McInerney, CIO and GMD Information Technology for Telstra is confident the agreements will deliver significant benefits.

"This is an important milestone for Telstra IT," he said.

"One of the key outcomes of our IT transformation is the delivery of operational excellence. These consolidated contracts contribute to our strategy and ensure an ongoing investment with our key partners."

David Caspari, managing director A/NZ EDS said the deal aligns well with Telstra's business goals.

"Expectations for today's applications have multiplied - to deliver faster time to market, achieve better customer satisfaction, expand to new market segments, and improve business process and operational efficiencies," he said.

Jackie Korhonen CEO Infosys Australia said the company was excited to be part of Telstra's IT transformation.

The agreement with IBM covers data centre mainframe operations, a proportion of midrange operations and maintenance.