Datacom, Revera win govt cloud computing tender
Pair awarded supplier contracts; IBM, Gen-i miss out.
Pair awarded supplier contracts; IBM, Gen-i miss out.
The Department of Internal Affairs has awarded infrastructure-as-a-service supplier contracts to two companies: Revera and Datacom - both locally owned.
Four companies were on the shortlist for the tender. IBM and Telecom's IT and telco services division, Gen-i, missing the final cut (Gen-i did pick up a consolation prize earlier, being named as a government supplier for Apple gear).
Datacom is majority owned by NBR Rich Lister John Holdsworth.
Revera investors include its general manager Robin Cockayne, who owns 29% of the company, and chairman Wayne Norrie with a 27% holding.
Infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS, involves cloud computing and data centre services, allowing an organisation to have computer power on-tap, via the internet, rather than relying on inhouse servers.
The news is a bitter pill for IBM, which recently opened a new $80 million data centre in Auckland.
HP recently scrapped plans for a $60 million data centre in Tuakau, south of Auckland.
Acting Internal Affairs chief executive Peter Mersi said a procurement syndicate, led by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the Ministry for Economic Development (MED) will save an estimated $50-250 million over 10 years, and is part of government-wide procurement reforms.