IBM inks cloud ERP deal with Coca-Cola Amatil
Global technology giant IBM this morning revealed it had signed a five-year, multi-million-dollar deal with Coca-Cola Amatil which will see the beverage company's revamped enterprise resource planning operations hosted out of an IBM datacentre located in Sydney.
Worst CIO job in Australia?
Spare a thought for Eija Seittenranta, who was appointed Department of Parliamentary Services chief information officer in January this year. Not only did Seittenranta find the department’s IT operations to be an absolute shambles when she arrived, but the poor IT executive has to contend with feisty parliamentarians such as Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, who took Seittenranta to task in this extraordinary Senate Estimates hearing (we recommend you watch the video) about the fact that the US National Security Agency may have a back door into the Microsoft software used at Parliament House.
Former US Govt CIO in Aussie speaking tour
Former US whole of government chief information officer Vivek Kundra will hit Australia over the next several weeks for a speaking tour that will include events for his new employer Salesforce.com, as well as the Australian Information Industry Association.
Farce: WA Health can’t manage to find a CIO after six years
Every major organisation in Australia needs a senior executive to hold its top technology role. The minute you abandon that concept, is the minute you invite the kind of IT disasters and cost blow-outs that are already rife within Australia's state-based public sector.
Hacked? NSW Education in major outage
The NSW Department of Education and Communities has confirmed it has suffered a major event in its IT operation this week that knocked key staff services such as email offline, with an an unverified source claiming it had been hacked and suffered the deletion of thousands of accounts.
Q&A: Kennards Hire on Windows Server 2012
Kennards Hire IT manager Richard Fox-Smith speaks about the company's deployment of Microsoft's new Windows Server 2012 platform and other IT strategic and operational issues.
Cyber breach at the Bureau of Meteorology: The who, what and how, of the...
If the hackers were state-sponsored Chinese hackers such as the People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398, then the target of the hack would have been wide-ranging but possibly focused on information related to Australian defence and security services and capabilities.
Coalition slams Labor’s “$1bn e-health debacle”
Shadow Health Minister Peter Dutton has taken a pickaxe to the Federal Government's Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) scheme, claiming the costly project was "more about spin than about outcomes for patients".
NSW cloud policy inadequate, says consultant
Marten Hauville, a technical business consultant at local firm buildpartner, has examined the NSW Government's new cloud computing policy in detail, and found it extremely lacking.
University of Melbourne launches new hybrid supercomputer
The University of Melbourne has launched a new supercomputing service called Spartan it says will boost research at the institution.
Macquarie follows Westpac in IT offshoring
The Australian Financial Review late yesterday reported that financial giant Macquarie Group (commonly known as Macquarie Bank, although it has very diverse interests) is following Westpac in laying off Australian IT staff in favour of shifting jobs to India.
Bailey quits Macquarie for non-profit COO role
Long-time Macquarie University chief information officer Marc Bailey has left the educational institution to join non-profit group Intersect, which focuses on applying advanced ICT technologies to the practice of research.
Govt kicks off long-term ERP strategy
The Department of Finance and Deregulation has kicked off a major effort to examine the Federal Government's use of enterprise resource planning systems, with a view to optimising how the public service uses such platforms in the long-term.
E-health record will be hacked, says AusCERT
One of Australia's top IT security organisations has warned that the Federal Government's flagship e-health records project is likely to be broken into, with Australians' medical and identity information to be used for fraud and other criminal activities.
NSW Police tackles ballooning data with dropbox
The New South Wales Police Force has revealed plans to deploy a low level document management system somewhat akin to the easy access storage solutions offered by vendors like Dropbox and Box, as its existing systems continually struggle to deal with massively growing data volumes of files being used by its staff.
HP firms up multimillion deal with Downer EDI
Technology giant HP has announced a six-year multimillion-dollar infrastructure technology outsourcing services agreement with Downer EDI Limited, an Australian-based engineering and infrastructure management services company.
Anatomy of Qld Health IT disaster: IBM should never have been appointed
The Queensland Government's formal inquiry into the payroll systems upgrade debacle at Queensland Health has found damning allegations of procurement impropriety in the appointment of IBM as prime contractor for the initiative, and has concluded that Big Blue should never have won the contract in the first place.
NSW Parliament turfs “aged” Novell platforms
The New South Wales State Parliament will replace a broad swathe of Novell platforms it described as "end of life", "aged" and "legacy", replacing them primarily with new Microsoft software in areas such as email, identity management and file and print services that will bring its desktop IT infrastructure up to the "industry standard".
Nokia Lumia rollout for Sara Lee
Finnish smartphone seller Nokia today added another name to the growing public list of large Australian organisations which have decided to deploy its Windows Phone-based Lumia line as their corporate smartphone, picking the series ahead of competing options from Apple and Android.
Australia prefers Govt contact via the Internet
Special Minister of State Gary Gray said in a statement yesterday that the Internet constitutes the preferred method of access to government services, backing his statements with the release of a new report in the area.
Human Services Dept renews $484m contract with IBM
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has renewed a contract with IBM for the delivery of new technology that is aimed to drive new products and services.
Amazon UPS design at fault in Sydney outage
As you may have noticed, Amazon Web Services is not precisely having a fantastic week in Australia. And now we know why and how.
DDoS takes down Census website
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has said the 2016 online Census form was subject to four distributed denial of dervice (DDoS) attacks on 9 August that were of "varying nature and severity".
Regulator forces ANZ off Salesforce.com
Just when you thought Australia’s banks and the banking ecosystem in general were making some headway in their acceptance of cloud computing technologies, international regulators throw a spanner in the works. iTNews reports todaythat the Monetary Authority of Singapore has forced the hand of ANZ Bank when it comes to cloud computing.
WA Govt still has terrible IT security
Those of you who have been reading Delimiter for some time will know that for much of the past half-decade, Western Australia's Auditor-General has been warning that the State Government's IT security is pretty abysmal.
Westpac delays shift off Lotus Notes
Remember in May 2011, when we broke the news that Westpac confirmed it would finally shift off IBM’s troubled Lotus Notes/Domino platform, in favour of an organisation wide shift to a hosted version of Microsoft Outlook/Exchange? Well, it appears that shift isn’t going too well.
DiData lands Aussie customer for new cloud
Global IT services outfit Dimension Data has announced a new range of global cloud services, simultaneously revealing it has signed up the Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications to use the platform.
Google Apps defeats Lotus, GroupWise in Australia
Google's popular Apps collaboration suite has knocked IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino and Novell's GroupWise platforms off their perch to become the second most popular office suite in Australian enterprises behind Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, analyst firm Telsyte revealed this week.
Cloud services first: A next-generation shared services policy for government
Cloud services break the cycle of agency investment in dedicated ICT solutions that are difficult or impossible to share. In contrast, each procurement of cloud services incrementally develops the capacity of the vendor to offer the same service to other agencies. A policy position of “cloud services first” is a strategic commitment by government to the development of the next generation of shared services.
IT price comparisons not useful, says AIIA
The IT industry's peak lobby group today said it was "not useful" to directly compare prices on technology goods and services between Australia and other countries and that increased Australian prices on such goods reflected different conditions and protections locally compared with other countries.
Tribunal backs ANZ Bank’s IT outsourcing
Industrial regulator Fair Work Australia has issued a ruling supporting ANZ Bank's decision to shift some 260 Australian and Indian staff IT testing staff to employment with outsourcer Capgemini, rejecting union demands that the bank must negotiate with staff over the move.
NSW Govt releases IT anti-corruption guide
Most IT professionals of any seniority are pretty much familiar by now with the sometimes shady tactics used by technology vendors during the procurement process, but just how open is the public discussion around that issue, and what can be done to tighten things up? The answers for many people, until now, have been pretty much “not that open” and “keep a close eye on them”. In an attempt to shine some sunlight on the situation and inject some rigour back into the process, the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has this week published a whitepaper on the issue.
Atlassian sends graduates to beach house
Atlassian has stationed 10 of its finest software graduates at the ‘Hack House’, a beach house in Narrabeen up the coat from the company’s Sydney headquarters. The ‘Gradlassians’, as they’ve been nicknamed, will spend a week combining surfing fun and hard work, developing a new product innovation ready for shipment by the end of the week.
QBE appoints new CIO amid restructure
Insurer QBE has unexpectedly appointed a new chief information officer, with its incumbent executive holding the position shifting to another position within the group.
Legacy health software lands SA Govt in court
In which the South Australian Government comes up with complex legal arguments as to why it should be able to continue to use a 1980's software package.
Sarv Girn becomes Reserve Bank CIO
Recently departed Westpac group general manager of Enterprise Technology Services Sarv Girn has picked up a high-profile position as the new chief information officer of the Reserve Bank.
Govt CTO Sheridan on open source, cloud
Federal Government chief technology officer John Sheridan gives his views on cloud computing and open source use in the Federal Government, in a wide-ranging speech to Forrester's Summit for chief information officers in Sydney.
Xero migrates to Amazon Web Services
New Zealand-based accounting software company Xero has made what it calls the "massive move" to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform.
Vic Govt to sack CenITex board
The Victorian Government is set to remove the board of troubled state IT shared services agency CenITex, according to a report published by Melbourne newspaper The Age late last week.
Vic Govt instantly blows $4.4m on Windows 2003
The Victorian Government has paid Microsoft a whopping $4.4 million for extended support for the now-defunct Windows Server 2003 operating system, in a move which sharply demonstrates the extreme cost of running operating systems which are no longer formally supported by their vendors.
NetSuite in whole of business TurboSmart deal
Business-focused software as a service giant NetSuite has unveiled yet another win with a mid-sized Australian company, revealing a deal with automotive performance products manufacturer Turbosmart that has seen the company deploy a comprehensive suite of NetSuite products across its business.
Australian Defence College pilots Google Apps for academic programs
The Australian Defence College (ADC) has launched a pilot scheme that will see its academic programs using Google Apps, Senator the Honourable Marise Payne, Minister for Defence, announced this week.
Back on track: Suncorp commits to 2016 core revamp
Second-tier bank and insurance company Suncorp has reaffirmed its plans to replace its legacy Hogan core banking platform with a more modern Oracle-based alternative in 2016, with the bank finally putting a date on an overhaul that has been on-again, off-again for several years.
ANZ Bank appoints board-level tech advisory panel
ANZ Bank today revealed it had appointed what it described as “an international panel of technology experts” which it said would advise its board on the strategic application of new and emerging technologies and technological trends that could affect the bank’s strategy.
Amazon hiring Sydney datacentre manager
Cloud computing giant Amazon has advertised more than a half dozen new positions as it ramps up its operations in Australia, including a role for a Sydney-based datacentre operations manager, which will re-kindle speculation the company wants to roll out infrastructure locally.
Qld Govt hacked Brisbane’s traffic systems
You would hope, you would really hope, that a major city such as Brisbane, which is about to host the G20 group of twenty global finance ministers and central bank governors, would be in the practice of ensuring that the traffic management systems which govern the operation of systems such as stoplights would be secure from attack. But not so.
Domain dumps spreadsheets for Salesforce
Real-estate marketing specialist Domain Group has abandoned spreadsheets and integrated with Salesforce's cloud platform in a bid to improve its customer relationship management process.
The Inside Track: What we learned from the Sydney AWS outage
The Sydney Amazon Web Services outage could end up being a long-term positive, if it heightens the stability of major IT infrastructure. However, if IT professionals don't heed its lessons, then the opposite will be true. Where one outage can occur, others can follow. And the damage may not quite be as limited the next time around.
DHS reveals year of IT outages
New Federal Government super-department the Department of Human Services has revealed it suffered 137 IT outages thoughout the year to the end of September 2012, with dozens of instances where customers of services such as Centrelink were unable to access online services through Centrelink's web site.
Unita dumps MYOB, Excel spreadsheets for NetSuite
Interior-construction company Unita has replaced a number of instances of MYOB, Accentus and Excel spreadsheets with a single instance of NetSuite OneWorld to manage its core business processes.
As expected, Mailes to lead Vic Govt IT
As has been widely known inside the Victorian Government for a while now, former South Australian whole of government chief information officer Grantly Mailes has been appointed to a permanent role as Victoria's first chief technology advocate -- a new style of role recommended in the state's new ICT strategy which Mailes coordinated.
Finally, Amazon launches Sydney datacentre
After six months of rumours and the launch of several ancillary services down under, US cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services has finally announced the availability of locally-hosted cloud computing services from an Australian datacentre; with prices comparable to those seen overseas.
Small business missing the mobile, social, cloud revolution
Most companies that live and breathe the online revolution are not tech startups, but smart smaller firms that use online tools to run their core business better: to cut costs, reach customers and suppliers, innovate and get more control. Many others, however, are falling behind, according to a new Grattan Institute discussion paper.
Bankwest in massive Windows 8 rollout
Large Windows 8 rollouts have been thin on the ground in Australia since Microsoft released its newest operating system last year, but there have been a handful exposed -- and more are apparently coming. This morning iTNews adds Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Bankwest to the list.
Brisbane Airport outsources IT to Data#3
Queensland-headquartered IT services group Data#3 yesterday announced it had won a contract with Brisbane Airport Corporation, as the group continues a drive to transform its technology services delivery model.
Farr, Boreham, Wood, Skellern win Australia Day honours
Former IBM Australia leader Glen Boreham, Defence chief information officer Greg Farr, Wotif.com founder Graeme Wood and former NICTA chief David Skellern have all picked up Australia Day honours this week for outstanding service to the nation.
SAP loses Aussie MD Ebbeck
The long-serving leader of German software giant SAP's Australian business, Tim Ebbeck, has unexpectedly resigned, with the company currently conducting an executive search to find a replacement.
Oracle reveals swathe of Aussie rollouts
Enterprise technology giant Oracle has published details of half a dozen sizable deployments of its technology by Australian customers, as it continues its push to convince local technology buyers of the popularity of its Fusion platforms.
Qantas still finalising Outlook shift
The nation's largest airline Qantas has revealed that it's still in the process of migrating its corporate email platform off IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino platform and onto Microsoft's Outlook/Exchange system, with the rollout now into its fourth year.
NEC Australia suffering “profitability challenges”
The new managing director of diversified technology solutions group NEC has warned its Australian employees the group is facing "immediate profitability challenges" despite having a "very healthy" pipeline of contracts.
Can Australia lead global cloud market?
The Australian Government’s IT industry advisory body has stated in a report that the nation has the scope to become a global leader in cloud computing technology and drive innovation and productivity.
Atmail loses Raine & Horne as Office 365 slides in
Just two years after it announced a switch to the independent Atmail email platform, real estate giant Raine & Horne has revealed a migration to a new platform, with Microsoft's Office 365 and Exchange platforms getting the nod over for more than 3,000 staff.
SA Police buys drone fleet
The South Australian police force has gone to market to buy a fleet of aerial drones to assist it with surveillance operations, as controversy continues to swirl around the use of the technology in Australia's skies and whether it endangers residents and/or invades their privacy.
It’s nice to see government agencies share with each other
One of the most frustrating and, I think, silliest things I found when working in Australian government agencies was how almost every department, agency and statutory body developed almost all of its own policies, procedures, software and tools.
Cross-platform tools luring mobile app developers back from HTML5
Many performance and functionality-minded application developers, who are shifting back to proprietary mobile apps after growing disillusioned with the limitations of HTML5, will find solace in today’s launch of a cross-platform development tool that allows Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android and Windows RT apps to be written using the popular C++ and Delphi development languages.
CSIRO starts converting fleet to electric cars
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has announced it is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint with the rollout of 100% electric cars to its national fleet.
Insurer IAG hires Deloitte exec as digital ‘disrupter’
Multinational insurance company IAG has appointed Deloitte's Peter Bonney to a newly established 'Disruptive Technology and Architecture' role within its IAG Labs division.
Australian Govt has “cloud last” policy, says Ovum
The Federal Government has taken a "cloud-last" position on the adoption of the new generation of cloud computing technologies, analyst firm Ovum said today, as it lacked a clear vision of the benefits of the cloud computing model, but was very clear about its risks.
More criticism of the ACS
Well-known IT industry figure Tony Healy adds to Freelancer.com chief executive Matt Barrie's criticism of the Australian Computer Society.
SaaS apps now mainstream in Australia
It was only a few years ago that the term "Software as a Service" was almost anathema in Australia's IT industry, with almost all organisations preferring to deploy applications on an in-house basis. But according to respected analyst house Telsyte, in certain categories the deployment model is now "mainstream".
Atos, Datacom and NEC signed up for $3bn WA GovNext plan
Atos, Datacom and NEC have been selected by the WA Government to help it roll out its $3 billion GovNext ICT plan, according to The West Australian.
Virgin to launch in-flight Wi-Fi next year
Virgin Australia has announced it will introduce inflight Wi-Fi on its domestic and international fleet from next year.
Former Sydney University ICT manager found to be corrupt
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has ascertained that a former ICT manager at the University of Sydney carried out corrupt acts during his time at the institution.
Peregrine deploys Microsoft Power BI in IoT pilot
South Australian convenience retailer Peregrine Corporation has announced plans to pilot an Internet of Things (IoT) and Microsoft Power BI data analytics solution to reduce business risks.
Westpac demotes CIO, makes CTO redundant
Westpac Banking Group has dramatically shaken up its senior IT executive team, slicing some responsibilities away from previous top IT dog Clive Whincup and reportedly making its chief technology officer Jeff Jacobs redundant.
New Qld IT renewal chief lasted just a month
The Queensland Government appears to have suffered a further substantial blow to its attempts to reform its technology infrastructure, with an executive having been hand-picked to oversee its IT renewal program resigning after just one month in the role, and taking her deputy with her.
BioPak replaces Sage, MYOB with NetSuite
Cloud-based business software company NetSuite this week revealed that Sydney-based sustainable packaging company BioPak over a year ago replaced a number of point solutions such as MYOB and Sage's customer relationship management software with a comprehensive NetSuite-based solution for its business applications.
Salesforce a winner as NSW’s ChildStory project announces vendors
The NSW Department of Family & Community Services' ChildStory project has announced the winning vendors for a $100-million IT platform that is aimed to boost child safety in the state.
Australia’s first driverless bus takes to the road
Australia’s first "fully driverless" and electric shuttle bus took to the streets of South Perth yesterday for the on-road stage of its ongoing trial, according to the RAC.
Victoria Police lacks ability to deliver IT projects
In a broad-based investigation of the Victorian police force, the State Services Authority (SSA) has found that the organisation has no ability to deliver major IT projects.
HP’s Caspari quits after just one year
It's been reportedly extremely widely in Australia's technology media over the past 24 hours that HP South Pacific Managing Director David Caspari has resigned his post and will leave the company.
Jeff Smith quits Suncorp for IBM
Second-tier Australian bank and financial services group Suncorp today announced that its long-serving top technology executive Jeff Smith would leave to take up a senior role with IBM in the United States, in an announcement which marks the end of an era for the nation’s banking IT sector.
Judge sides with IBM in Qld Health payroll lawsuit
This week it appears as though Queensland's actions have blown up in its face again with respect to its botched payroll systems upgrade at Queensland Health.
Bulletproof poaches Rackspace MD
Australian hosting company Bulletproof poaches the local country manager of international hosting giant Rackspace.
Video: Amazing Microsoft Sydney office lightshow
In the video above, Microsoft Australia appears to have taken over several office towers in Sydney's Darling Harbour for the launch of its LightSwitch software (apparently an add-in to the company's Visual Studio development environment. We know we've been pretty hard on Microsoft recently ... but this is amazing. Kudos!
Two years later, NTT sacking Frontline staff
Just two years after Japanese technology consortium NTT revealed it would purchase the majority of Australian IT services firm Frontline Systems (which also owns hosting company Harbour MSP), the trio have revealed plans to make a substantial number of Australian staff redundant as part of a reorganisation.
The Friday CIO: Bill Robertson
Every Friday Delimiter features an Australian chief information officer, IT director or IT manager. This week's profile is of Bill Robertson, the CIO/IT manager of De Bortoli Wines.
NSW formalises ‘cloud-first’ with new policy
The New South Wales State Government has formalised its already extremely proactive and positive approach towards the adoption of the new class of cloud computing services within its operations, issuing a new cloud computing policy this week which forces departments and agencies to consider the cloud when undertaking ICT procurements.
Data#3 flags job cuts: Read the internal email
There was one little fact which Data#3 didn't disclose to investors during its financial results briefing session this week: Job cuts
NAB deploys Chatter … and Yammer?
From Salesforce.com's Dreamforce conference in the US this week comes the news that the National Australia Bank has deployed the company's internal social networking tool Chatter ... as well as having an existing rollout of Yammer.
Unfixable: Time to ditch e-health record scheme
Federal health minister Peter Dutton has commissioned a review of Labor’s troubled Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) project. It’s unclear whether the review committee is to decide whether to scrap the project altogether or to try and fix it. Hopefully it is not the latter because if the past year has taught us anything, it is that this is not a fixable problem. It needs to go.
Buildcorp deploys 150 Nokia Lumias
Construction firm Buildcorp has deployed some 150 new staff mobile phones in Nokia's Lumia line, the Finnish smartphone vendor announced this afternoon.
Microsoft to offer Win10 as a service for businesses
Microsoft has announced that it will soon be offering Windows 10 as a service for enterprises through its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) channel.
First State rewards security tip with legal threat
Whoah. It looks like Australian superannuation fund First State Super has had a massive, corporate-style over-reaction to a security analyst, Patrick Webster who politely let it know about an obvious, glaring security hole in its online platform.
Toll dumps IT outsourcing plan
Logistics giant Toll has revealed plans to dump its plans to outsource key parts of its IT infrastructure, as well as application support and development, in a rapid and unexpected turnaround.
Seittenranta to be permanent DPS CIO
Long-time Centrelink and Department of Human Services IT executive Eija Seittenranta has been appointed to a permanent role as the chief information officer of the Federal Department of Parliamentary Services, following a temporary appointment to the role in October.
Australia Post trials drone deliveries
Australia Post has announced the it will be the "first major parcels and logistics company" in Australia to trial package delivery by remotely piloted aircraft, also called drones.
IT firm Geek helps Adelaide accountants beat CryptoLocker attack
Australian IT services firm Geek said it has helped an Adelaide accounting firm recover from a CryptoLocker malware attack in "just 15 minutes" using a US security product called Datto.
Insurance network deploys Microsoft business intelligence
Insurance Advisernet (IA) has deployed Microsoft's Business Intelligence data visualisation suite in order to bring greater efficiency and customer understanding network of independent advisers.
Qantas’ Amazon website cloud move will save it $30m
Over the past several years it has become a very common story to see major organisations shifting IT infrastructure, particularly their public-facing websites, into cloud computing facilities. Major banks have done it. Government departments have done it. And now, as has been outlined in a slew of articles over the past week, has Qantas -- well, at least it's in the throes of the migration.
RTFM: How to keep CIOs under control
Chief information officers never seem to understand. It doesn't matter if the servers are up or down -- that's a user problem. The real issue is whether they are configured properly in the first place. The system must be perfect, pristine. Users pollute that nirvana.
IBM says it “successfully delivered” Qld Health payroll
Global technology giant IBM has written to the new LNP Queensland Government claiming it “successfully delivered” against milestones agreed with the previous Labor administration with respect to the disastrous payroll systems overhaul at Queensland Health, which has already cost the state $417 million and will need another $837 million to fix over the next five years.
Microsoft Yammer buy great news, says cloud CIO
Will Microsoft’s $1.2 billion purchase of corporate social networking firm Yammer be a positive event for the future of enterprise IT? Yes, according to Alan Perkins, one of Australia’s leading IT executives when it comes to understanding cloud computing.
AGL turns to Microsoft for project management tools
AGL Energy has deployed Microsoft’s Project Online in order to more efficiently manage projects across the company.
Victoria Police links IT failure to tragic death
The sustained inability of Victoria Police to deliver major IT projects appears to have come home to roost at the organisation, with the force this morning laying part of the blame for an 11-year-old boy's death this week at the doorstep of its ailing IT systems, which failed to provide officers with sufficient information to apprehend an offender in a timely manner.
ANZ Bank renews Optus telco deals
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has renewed its telecommunications and managed services agreements with Singtel and Optus Business, extending both to 2020.
NSW to outsource ServiceFirst functions
The New South Wales State Government has followed through on its proposal to outsource key functions of state shared services agency ServiceFirst, inviting the private sector to provide options for the group's future in a move reminiscent of a similar approach taken by the Victorian Government to its IT shared services agency CenITex.
Qld Police trial Segways for crime-fighting
The Queensland Police Service yesterday revealed that it would kick off what it said was the first Australian trial of the Segway personal transportation vehicle in pedestrian areas, to test their suitability for police operations.
Deloitte Australia to deploy internal private cloud
One of Australia’s largest corporate consultancies, the local branch of international firm Deloitte, has revealed it will join the widespread migration towards internal private cloud solutions, standardising heavily on the vCloud Suite developed by virtualisation leader VMware.
Hack shuts down NSW Trainlink booking system
NSW TrainLink has announced that its online reservations system has been taken offline following a hack and that some users' credit card data may have been compromised.
Dropbox opens Sydney office
Cloud computing storage player Dropbox has announced it is opening an office in Sydney, as competition in the local enterprise cloud storage market accelerates.
The end is nigh for Windows XP: Are you ready?
Almost 13 years after its release in October 2001 to a world still in shock after the 9/11 terror attacks, the sun is finally setting on Microsoft’s Windows XP. The operating system has been the software in many home and work PCs but for die-hard users who continue to use XP, danger that way lies.
Medibank CIO quits after five months for Suncorp
Banking and insurance giant Suncorp today revealed it had appointed Sarah Harland as its new chief information officer, just five months after the executive took up a similar position at health insurer Medibank Private.
Now Toll dumps Google Apps rollout, reconsiders SAP plan
Toll has reportedly stopped the rollout of a Google Apps deployment to its staff and is developing a new plan for its proposed SAP-based finance transformation.
Victoria releases concrete, detailed ICT strategy
The Victorian State Government has released the final version of a new whole of government information and communications technology strategy containing hard deadlines for goals, with which it aims to start addressing extensive IT project and service delivery issues which have resulted in more than a billion dollars in budget overruns and a string of failed IT projects over the past half-decade.
15 years later, Health breaks up IBM’s crown
Fifteen years after it first outsourced its IT department to global technology IBM, in a deal renewed half a dozen times and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the Federal Department of Health has finally placed key components of the deal back on the market, in its first formal request for the tender in the area since 1999.
Microsoft Hyper-V wins huge Coles rollout
Microsoft has revealed that a virtualisation solution built on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise with Hyper-V technology has been implemented by retail giant Coles, at each of its 741 supermarkets, to tackle an aging, in-store fleet of server hardware.
Defence graduate allegedly leaked secret info to 4chan
If you're a regular user of 4chan, then you're probably aware that the Internet board is notorious for the number of Internet subcultures and memes it has created. What you probably wouldn't expect to find on 4chan is classified Department of Defence documents.
Cloud could help fix Govt IT paradigm: Hodgkinson
Independent analyst firm Ovum said this week that developing and maintaining ICT capabilities constitutes an ongoing challenge for government agencies, with one of the organisation's Australian public sector specialists noting that the utilisation of cloud computing services could provide an edge in an “unsustainable game of ICT snakes and ladders being played by many government agencies”.
DHS issues show Turnbull’s innovation talk just ‘spam’, says Labor
Labor has criticised the Turnbull government over recent IT and other issues at the Department of Human Services (DHS), saying they reveal that the Prime Minster's talk of Innovation is just "spam".
Red Cloud to build $40m next-gen datacentre in Hobart
Red Cloud Ltd, a data centre services provider, has announced it will build a $40-million, resilient, Tier-3 data centre in Hobart using proven state-of-the-art modular technology.
Sysadmin victory: Bulletproof to list on ASX
Sydney-based hosting and cloud computing company Bulletproof Networks has unexpectedly revealed its intention to list on the Australian Stock Exchange through a reverse takeover of a mining firm, in the second example in as many months of a major Australian technology firm going public.
Brickworks details ERP integration project
In a case study published by Microsoft this week, Brickworks details how it has integrated various accounts payable and invoicing systems together using a combination of SharePoint, software from smart processing company Kofax and Microsoft partner Efficiency Leaders.
Shock: Queensland Health to get IT review
From the department of why the hell haven't they already done this comes the news that that bastion of IT systems stability and competence Queensland Health (yup, the very same, you'd be surprised how often it pops up in Delimiter stories) will undertake a review into its IT procurement practices and IT governance arrangements.
NT Govt buys a new IBM mainframe
Due to the incredible rise of the x86 chipset over the past several decades, it's easy to forget that at the beating heart of many organisations, those ancient dreadnoughts which the IT industry knows as the common or garden mainframes are still found, continuing to promulgate their ever-lasting mission of stability, cost efficiency and power.
TechOne’s CRM package a hit
Australian software vendor TechnologyOne this week revealed it had landed five major local deals in the last quarter for its customer relationship management (CRM) software. The vendor's solution is set to replace a rival Microsoft platform at one of these sites, and believes its CRM solution be in use by over 10,000 people in the near future.
NEXTDC opens Sydney datacentre: Photos
Listed datacentre operator NEXTDC this week opened its new ('S1') datacentre in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, at an event attended by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull as well as customers, partners and the media.
ASD releases Windows 8 hardening guide
The Australian Signals Directorate appears to have released a guide to hardening Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system, three years after the software was released for use by corporate customers, and as Microsoft is slated to release its next upgrade, Windows 10.
Harris Farm deploys IBM all-in-one servers
Retailer Harris Farm Markets revealed in late December that it had deployed IBM's all-in-one compute, storage and networking Flex System in its operations to meet a variety of aims ranging from reducing IT costs and complexity to boosting the performance of business systems such as its ERP platform.
ING DIRECT rolls out Microsoft cloud deployment
ING DIRECT Australia has deployed Bank in a Box, a private cloud infrastructure, in collaboration with systems integrator Dimension Data and backed by technical expertise from Cisco, NetApp and long-term partner, Microsoft. A case study published by Microsoft this month reveals the background to the technology deployment at ING DIRECT.
Unisys picks up more Queensland Education work
Queensland's Department of Education, Training and Employment has extended an extremely long-term major IT services contract with supplier Unisys to the value of $29.4 million and simultaneously put a second tranche of IT services work on the market.
Australia Post accelerates digital push with Data61 partnership
Australia Post has announced a new partnership with the country's largest data innovation group Data61 that is aimed to drive continued transformation into a digital services company.
Defence dumps distributed computing plans
The Department of Defence has taken the unusual step of abandoning plans to go to market for one of the three major tranches of IT outsourcing programs it has been evaluating over the past several years, opting instead to renew a contract in the area with Unisys, despite the fact that it will shortly be forced to re-examine the deal anyway.
Defence appoints new CIO: Peter Lawrence
The Department of Defence has appointed high-flying global IT executive Peter Lawrence, currently group manager of IT, Energy Markets for utility Origin Energy, to replace its outgoing chief information officer Greg Farr.
BANNED: Qld Govt outlaws new IBM contracts
The Queensland Government has explicitly banned its departments and agencies from entering into any new contracts with diversified IT products and services company IBM until the company demonstrates that it has improved its governance and contracting practices, in an extraordinary move taking place in the wake of the Queensland Health payroll disaster which IBM held a key role in.
Google Glass has not yet launched … but Westpac is trialling an app
Google's augmented reality and heads-up display headset Google Glass hasn't yet formally launched, but that hasn't stopped some of Australia's major corporations from developing an app for the latest hot platform.
ANZ Bank says no business case for core banking IT overhaul
Right now, there is a 'halo' effect that surrounds CommBank's core banking overhaul project that gives strong credence to the business case for its first mover advantage in the core banking IT race. I'm not sure that ANZ really understands just how powerful this overall effect can be. If it did, I would suspect it would be quite worried indeed.
Uni of Sydney deploys ThinkPad Tablet 2 studios
The University of Sydney has successfully completed a trial of Windows 8-based Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 devices in dedicated student spaces on several of its campuses and is seeking to deploy the devices more widely to assist in generating better learning outcomes.
DTO celebrates achievements in first year
The Digital Transformation Office (DTO) has celebrated its first birthday with a blog post penned by CEO Paul Shetler looking back at the "highlights and milestones" of its inaugural year.
HP CEO Whitman lands in Australia
HP has confirmed its global chief executive Meg Whitman has landed in Australia for a brief visit, in a move that comes as fallout from a bungle at key HP customer the Commonwealth Bank of Australia continues to make itself felt.
Servcorp deploys Dropbox Business for cloud storage
Following a consultation with staff members, Servcorp has moved to Dropbox Business to better fulfil its cloud storage requirements.
‘Cloud’ is now mainstream in Australia’s banking sector
It's finally happened. After years of expressing concern about the privacy risks, regulatory challenges and technical inadequacies of the new clutch of technologies broadly known as “cloud computing”, Australia's financial services sector has embraced the new paradigm wholesale. It's about time.
Guzman y Gomez likes the taste of NetSuite
Fast-growing Mexican restaurant fast food chain Guzman y Gomez revealed this week that it has upgraded its previous MYOB-based accounting system to a comprehensive business platform from software as a service vendor NetSuite, to help support the chain's ongoing expansion plans.
Qld kicks off whole of Govt ICT audit
The new Liberal-National Party State Government in Queensland has announced it will conduct a six month whole of government audit into ICT systems used across the state public sector, in a bid to identify potential savings and efficiencies ahead of projected rationalisation of its ICT assets and processes.
Cisco issues 9.2 percent Aussie price rise
Networking hardware giant Cisco has slapped a blanket 9.2 percent price increase on all of its products and services in Australia, giving its customers and partners just one month's notice of the price rise.
Web Directions hosts May mini-confs
Local conference outfit Web Directions, best known for its popular October conference of the same name, will host two smaller conferences for web professionals in May, this year: Web Directions Code, set for May 23rd and 24th in Melbourne, and State of Play on May 28th in Sydney.
Accenture parlays CBA skills into Child Support win
The Federal Department of Human Services today announced a deal with IT services giant Accenture that will see the company help replace the ageing Child Support payments system, using the SAP technology which Accenture developed extensive skills with during the Commonwealth Bank's core banking placement project.
La Trobe Uni deploys TechOne cloud app
La Trobe University in Melbourne has extended its existing partnership with Australian software as a service (SaaS) provider TechnologyOne with the signing of a Student Management SaaS deal.
Cloud, Windows 8 may sneak into Canberra through Tourism Australia
At least one Federal Government agency, Tourism Australia, may be on the verge of taking the cloud computing plunge on multiple fronts.
Auditor General: WA Govt should “prioritise online delivery of services”
Western Australian Auditor General Colin Murphy has released a report saying there are "significant savings and benefits" to moving government services online.
Fed Govt releases motherhood ICT strategy
The Federal Government today published what it described as a new strategy document which would set the overall direction for the Australian Public Service’s use of ICT in the future. However, the document contains few specific details of steps that will be taken, preferring to focus instead on a series of high-level motherhood statements.
NSW Govt super group can’t afford to upgrade its IT systems
The New South Wales Government has announced that it may sell off state-owned superannuation services company Pillar instead of spending the estimated $30 million the fund needs to update its IT systems and deal with other internal matters.
Queensland Police starts body-worn camera rollout
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) has announced it is rolling out body-worn cameras (BWCs) for frontline police across the state.
Web chat transcends customer service generational differences: Fifth Quadrant
New figures out of customer experience research house Fifth Quadrant suggest that older Australians, despite being less enthusiastic adopters of social media and smartphone apps, are as keen as younger Australians to use Web-based chats to interact with customer service representatives during online transactions.
Qld Govt planning to cut 430 IT staff
The Queensland Government flags plans to cut some 430 ICT staff, as the state's ongoing problems with its ICT service delivery structure continue to bite.
Uni of New England opens Lync to 23,000
Microsoft has revealed that Armidale's University of New England has licensed its Lync unified communications platform for the use of 23,000 students and staff, in a deployment which appears to set a new record for the use of the technology in Australian educational institutions and which opens UNE's remote learning doors further.
Has Fortescue dumped BlackBerry for Nokia?
Australian iron ore group Fortescue metals has declined to comment on an unverified rumour that the company has recently deployed over 600 new staff smartphones, allegedly swapping out its existing BlackBerry fleet in the latest corporate switch to Microsoft's rival Windows Phone 7 ecosystem.
SAP has 20 Aussie Business ByDesign customers
IT channel publication CRN has reported that German software giant SAP has signed up 20 customers for its Business ByDesign software as a service platform, which launched in Australia in August last year.
Ministers’ cloud approval lasted just a year
Remember how twelve months ago, the Federal Government released a new cloud computing security and privacy directive which required departments and agencies to explicitly acquire the approval of the Attorney-General and the relevant portfolio minister before government data containing private information could be stored in offshore facilities? Remember how the policy was strongly criticised by Microsoft, Government CIOs and Delimiter? Well, it looks like the policy is about to be reversed.
Atlassian buys HipChat
Australian enterprise software firm Atlassian revealed this week that it had acquired San Francisco-based HipChat.
Yarra Valley Water implements Oracle Exadata
Victorian utility Yarra Valley Water this week disclosed it had implemented several Oracle hardware products as it sought to boost the performance of its IT systems, including the vendor's Exadata Database Machine and its Exalogic Elastic Cloud solution.
Oil firm taps IBM’s IT experience with app management deal
Oil and gas explorer and producer INPEX has announced the signing of a new application management deal with IBM in Australia.
APF concerned about DTO’s identity framework project
The Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) has raised concerns about the way the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) has proceeded about setting up its new Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) project.
Farce: Minister has PCEHR report … but Dept can’t find a copy
The Department of Health has rejected a Freedom of Information request for a report reviewing the Federal Government’s troubled Personally Controlled Electronic Health Records project, claiming that it does not have a copy of the document, despite the fact that Health Minister Peter Dutton announced in December that he had received it.
Windows 8 sales disappointing in Australia
It won't come as a surprise to many, given its drastically altered user interface and mixed reviews, but the news is already bad for Microsoft's new flagship operating system Windows 8 in Australia.
Microsoft goes Windows Azure crazy: Aussie deployments ahoy as TechEd kicks off
Redmond has just published three extensive case studies of how Australian customers and partners are using its Windows Azure platform (which encompasses infrastructure as a service, storage as a service, and even platform as a service, to name a few of its aspects).
Uniloc fixed software piracy in 1993
Remember Uniloc? That little Aussie battler software company which took on Microsoft on patents and walked away with half a billion dollars? The company’s founder Ric Richardson this week posted a YouTube clip about the company back in 1993. Let’s just say it was a simpler age.
NSW moves closer to ‘cloud-first’ strategy
The New South Wales Government has given further signs that it is moving to adopt the kind of ‘cloud-first’ IT procurement strategy which jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand have pursued over the past several years, in a move which could fundamentally change the way the state buys and uses technology.
Govt ICT apprenticeships open
Spoiling for a career in IT in the public sector? You're in luck. The Federal Government has just opened its ICT apprenticeship and cadetship program again.
Brookfield deploys Windows 10 instead of “old” 7 or “jarring” 8.1
Australian company Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions has revealed it is in the throes of a major deployment of Microsoft’s new Windows 10 operating system, taking the opportunity offered by corporate restructuring to go ahead with the upgrade.
Vic IT bungles Labor’s fault, says Liberal Minister
Victorian Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips has lambasted the past Labor Government’s “incompetence, mismanagement and waste” in its handling of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in the state.
Survey warns Australian businesses may be in “digital denial”
A new survey by Progress has found that, while most Australian business leaders recognise the benefits of going digital, over half said their organisations were "in denial" over the urgent need to transform their processes and services.
‘Kaching’: New CBA mobile, social, NFC payments app
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has revealed plans to launch a new combination smartphone application and associated hardware accessory that allow customers to make quick payments from their mobile phone to anyone with an email address, phone number of Facebook friendship, as well as to merchants via near field communications (NFC).
Rumours swirl around ANZ Indian IT sale
According to the Hindu Business Line, one of the country’s main business papers, top-tier Australian bank ANZ may be looking to sell its Bangalore operations to Indian IT outsourcer Wipro, which has long had a relationship with ANZ.
CSIRO still running Windows 98, NT
In an otherwise unrelated article on the organisation's adoption of Internet Protocol version 6, an article published by ZDNet.com.au yesterday revealed that Australia's peak scientific research agency was still running some copies of Windows 98 and NT4.
CommBank ditches softphone strategy for smartphones
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has confirmed plans to substantially modify its high-profile softphone-based unified communications strategy recently implemented at its flagship Commonwealth Bank Place facility in Sydney, turning instead to a mass smartphone deployment as its replacement.
IT disaster waiting to happen: Qld Health to replace 22-year-old admin system
Queensland Health's beleaguered IT operation has turned its focus to a sizable IT replacement project slated to cost the state up to $438 million and see a 22-year-old patient administration program replaced, as the fallout from its billion-dollar botched payroll system upgrade continues to be felt in the state's public sector.
Disastrous patch cripples CommBank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is currently reeling with internal chaos and some service delivery problems, following what appears to be a disastrous mis-application of an operating system patch to thousands of desktop PCs and hundreds of servers last week.
NSW Govt settles Tcard dispute
New South Wales Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian has announced the settlement of the long-running Tcard legal dispute with Videlli (formerly ERG). The trial had been due to start next Monday in the Supreme Court of NSW. The resolution of the matter will spare taxpayers a potential loss of around $200 million.
HostUs moves to IBM cloud in search of efficiency, cost savings
Australian IT and telephony service provider HostUs is moving its entire IT environment to IBM Cloud – a shift that IBM says will enable the firm to scale its infrastructure within hours rather than months, without the need for upfront capital expenditure.
Woolworths store managers get Gmail
Google Australia today revealed that retail giant Woolworths had also deployed the search giant's email application Gmail and other custom applications based on Google Apps to all of its store managers, as part of a nationwide rollout of Apple's iPad tablet slated to hit some 890 staff.
WA Govt can’t fund school IT upgrades
In news from The Department of Disturbing Facts, iTNews revealed late last week that Western Australia's Department of Education has run out of money halfway through the deployment of new fundamental IT infrastructure to the state's schools.
New Qld Govt CIO a chance for ‘industry unity’
There is the chance for a fresh start in Queensland at the moment. And if the various CIOs, politicians and industry players can get behind that, perhaps the state can avoid having virtually every major whole of government technology project, and many others, savaged by its auditor-general in a few years' time when the next round of audits comes up.
Report savages NT Govt’s ICT performance
The Northern Territory's parliament has published a landmark report into the management of ICT projects by its departments and agencies, finding a similar list of disasters as have been suffered by other state jurisdictions in Australia and recommending the immediate appointment of a whole of government chief information officer to help rectify the systemic issues.
NSW finalises colossal datacentre consolidation
The New South Wales State Government this week announced the Leighton subsidiary Metronode as the winner of its long-running and wide-ranging datacentre overhaul project, with the company to construct two new substantial facilities which will allow the state to consolidate its IT operations drastically.
Tasmania wants on-island private cloud
The Tasmanian Government has gone to market for an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or private cloud solution that can be used across its operations, telling potential suppliers that any supplied option must be located in the state and that it envisages transitioning most of its services to the environment in the long-term.
IBM suffers “catastrophic failure” at health dept
The Federal Department of Health and Aging has accused technology giant IBM of causing a “catastrophic failure” in its IT systems stemming from an update to its storage environment that took down a number of services for a period of time this week.
US Court: Microsoft can’t be forced to hand over overseas emails
A US Court has ruled that Microsoft cannot be forced hand over emails stored overseas even for domestic search warrants issued as part of criminal investigations.
Google takes on Microsoft with ‘free’ Apps offer
As part of its ongoing attempt to help itself to a big slice of Microsoft's pie, Google is offering companies 'free' use its online suite of apps for enterprise. There are conditions, however.
Get em young: Windows 8 indoctrination
Many young Australians head off to school these days with a collection of Apple paraphenalia; iPhones, iPods and now iPads are common items to see in the schoolbags of students heading off to both high school and primary school. However, for at least one young man, there won't be any Apple in his forseeable future.
The Good Guys calls in IBM for B2B digital portal launch
The Good Guys, the Australian household appliance retailer, has said it collaborated with IBM on the construction of its new B2B online portal aimed to transform engagement with its business customers.
Cisco assists Queensland Uni with digital transformation
Cisco has published a blog post discussing its partnership with the University of Queensland as the two organisations sought to bring digital transformation to the educational institution over the last few years.
Optus wins $60m deal with Virgin
Based on the amount of activity we're seeing from Optus at the moment, it looks as though the telco is really taking it to big brother Telstra. And that, as anyone who is in favour of strong competition in Australia's telecommunications sector will agree, is a fantastic thing. Nice one.
Microsoft beats SAP to Hastings ERP deal
Microsoft this week revealed that it had beaten fellow technology behemoth SAP to a major enterprise resource planning deal with Australian industrial dealership Hastings Deering, in a move which will see Redmond’s Dynamics AX 2012 software entrenched at the company.
Microsoft may can giant TechEd in Australia
Software giant Microsoft is considering a radical overhaul to its giant TechEd event in Australia that would essentially spell the end of the iconic conference in its traditional mega-format, with the company instead believed to be considering a series of smaller conferences around Australia in its place.
Qld Health CIO reportedly poached by IBM
Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Queensland Health CIO Colin McCririck has reportedly resigned for a job with IBM in the US.
NextDC confirms second Melbourne data centre will follow equity raising
Australian firm NextDC has announced it plans to raise equity to fund the building of two new data centres, including a second facility in Melbourne.
Two mid-size Aussie retailers go NetSuite
Cloud business software vendor NetSuite has revealed that two mid-level Australian retailers, Indian handcraft store Tree of Life and veterinary and pet healthcare supplier Vet-n-Pet, have deployed a broad swathe of its e-commerce and business management software in an effort to get their growing operations under control and scale for growth.
Gen-i Australia sacks most of its staff
The Australian division of IT services company Gen-i Australia this morning revealed it would cut its staff numbers from 180 to 60 and stop competing for most contracts on the market as it focuses only on Trans-Tasman contracts as per the instructions of its parent Telecom New Zealand.
Back to the future: Qld kickstarts payroll consolidation
The new LNP Queensland State Government has revealed plans to consolidate eight "outmoded and heavily customised" payroll IT systems into one outsourced system, in a move which will re-ignite the debate over how the state should provide core IT services supporting administrative functions to its various departments and agencies.
Delays hit NAB’s core banking project
Delays appears to have struck the National Australia Bank's core banking modernisation project, with the bank yesterday revealing it had pushed back the implementation of the foundation of its new Oracle-based platform to 2012, having focused on other aspects of the project this year.
IoT solution brings a boost to Tasmania’s oyster farms
AgTech business The Yield has developed a new system that uses in-water sensors, cloud computing and machine learning to offer an improved outcome for the bivalve-based businesses.
$1.5bn splurge: ANZ banks on customer tech
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group has revealed plans to spend up to $1.5 billion on a wide range of customer-facing technology systems and branch refurbishments, in the latest salvo of an intensifying battle between Australia’s major banks to position themselves as technology leaders.
NSW Govt seeks storage as a service
The New South Wales State Government has gone to market for storage as a service capabilities to replace its existing in-house storage solutions, in a move that will add to the rapid ramp-up of the state's adoption of cloud computing services.
Australia gets two Windows Azure datacentres
Microsoft this morning revealed plans to offer its Windows Azure platform as a service from Australian datacentres located in Sydney and Melbourne, in the latest move by a global technology giant to offer cloud computing services from Australian facilities to meet local demand and address concerns around data sovereignty.
Australia tax reversed: Office 2016 pricing better in Australia
Microsoft has reversed a lengthy trend towards jacking up the pricing on its software for the local market, with analysis showing Australians will actually pay significantly less for its brand new Office 2016 suite released this week than users in the United States.
Adobe misleads IT price hike inquiry
Adobe appears to have given a number of misleading and highly contestable answers to key questions posed to the software giant by the Federal Parliament's inquiry into IT price hikes in the Australian market, in a move which builds on questions currently being debated about the company's future relationship with its customers.
Labor claims DHS telephone and IT systems ‘collapsing’
Labor has released a statement over what it calls a "collapse" in the standards of telecoms and IT services at Centrelink and Medicare.
The plot thickens in CBA/ServiceMesh IT bribery scandal
There have been a series of new revelations in the Commonwealth Bank's IT bribery scandal over the past several days.
iBooks textbooks? Sorry, not for Australia
Apple has limited access to the broad range of new educational textbooks announced through its iBookstore overnight to students in the US, locking Australians and those in other countries out of accessing the new content from publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson.
Dimension Data overhauls ‘mediocre’ Deakin University wireless network
ICT solutions and services provider Dimension Data has overhauled the wireless network at Deakin University's campuses across Victoria to address a "mediocre" previous system that was causing connectivity issues for both students and staff.
Telstra builds four new datacentres
Telstra late yesterday revealed plans to expand its cloud computing business through constructing four new datacentres located around the nation to cater for demand. Now if only the telco could announce some new cloud computing customers.
DTO signs MOU with UK’s Government Digital Service
The Federal Government's Digital Transformation Office (DTO) has announced that it has signed an agreement with the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS) that is aimed to help both organisations progress their digital efforts.
Victoria Police gives up trying to replace 25-year-old IT system
I strongly urge the Victorian Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency. It will require not only a substantial funding increase for this area to Victoria Police, but also a number of senior appointments and strong Ministerial support to get this project moving and delivered.
“SYSTEMIC BUSINESS RISK”: 90% of Qld Govt’s ICT needs to be replaced Total cost:...
Ninety percent of the Queensland Government's ICT systems are outdated and will require replacement within five years at a total cost of $7.4 billion, the state's first comprehensive ICT audit released today revealed, as Queensland continues to grapple with the catastrophic outcome of years of "chronic underfunding" into its dilapidated ICT infrastructure.
HPE may cut 200 Adelaide jobs, just months after hiring binge
Just months after flagging a sizable expansion of its business in South Australia, insiders have revealed Hewlett Packard Enterprise is actually in the throes of cutting several hundred staff from the state.
Qld Minister defends new ICT strategy: ‘Not brochureware’
Queensland ICT Minister Ian Walker has defended the Government's minimalistic response to the grave implications contained in the state's recent ICT Audit, arguing that an ICT Strategy document published today of only a dozen pages with sparse detail was "not brochureware" and in fact represented a "solid" first step for the state.
myGov has potential but is far from finished
MyGov – or something like it – is part of a 21st century government. It is the way of the future. But it needs careful development, testing, and selling.
NAB starts deploying Windows 7
In 2009 the bank started investigating the next move, to Windows 7, and now that 2013 is almost here, according to iTNews (we recommend you click through to the full article), the bank is actually deploying some Windows 7 machines:
Specsavers outsources key IT services to Accenture
Global optical chain Specsavers has partnered with professional services company Accenture to help manage its IT services as it focuses on increasing the digital side of its business.
Medibank division deploys HP private cloud
Global technology giant HP this week revealed that Medibank division Medibank Health Solutions had deployed a complete stack of HP IT infrastructure ranging from blade servers to storage and interconnecting systems, in a rollout which appears to constitute the base parts of a scalable private cloud platform.
New Microsoft Surface + Lumia devices to hit Australia before Christmas
Microsoft’s new range of Surface convertible table devices will launch in Australia in mid-November, the global technology giant announced this week, as well as a clutch of new Lumia-branded handsets to keep Windows mobile enthusiasts happy.
EPA Victoria deploys SAP CRM
German software giant SAP this morning revealed that version 7.0 of its customer relationship management platform was being deployed at the Victorian Government's Environmental Protection Authority, along with a number of other components of SAP's broader software suite.
Agency to refresh desktops with Surface Pro 2
Minor Federal Government agency the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has revealed plans to refresh its staff PC fleet not with laptops, not with desktop PCs, but with Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 tablet, in one of the first known deployments of its kind in Australia.
NSW appoints digital economy taskforce
The NSW Government has taken another step in meeting its commitment to put development of the state's technology sector at the front of its priority list, announcing today the formation of a taskforce that would help form a ten-year action plan to develop the state's digital economy.
Now David Jones gets hacked
news David Jones today notified customers that it had become the latest casualty in a hacking spree which appears to be targeting Australian retailers.
The...
Yes, the AFR’s Lenovo story is still accurate
Right now, without saying where we have obtained our information, it seems clear that the Financial Review's report on this issue is broadly accurate. In short, although the specifics of the ban are unclear, the newspaper is correct that Lenovo machines are not used in certain areas of Defence.
Aurecon appoints new tech chief
International engineering and advisory company Aurecon has appointed ex-Toll Group tech specialist Carl Duckinson as its new Chief Information Officer.
Tasmania’s huge payroll overhaul may go cloud
The Tasmanian Government has flagged plans to overhaul its dated whole of government human resources and payroll systems, in a move which will affect some 28,000 employees and may see the state shift its systems into a cloud computing/software as a service model.
$63m baby: Oracle sells ‘the works’ to Defence
Oracle has revealed that it signed a wide-ranging $63 million contract with the Federal Department of Defence earlier this year that will see the US technology giant supply virtually all of its major product lines, ranging from its popular PeopleSoft, Database and Fusion products to its Exadata hardware and even its Exalogic Elastic Cloud technology.
Fire + Rescue NSW deploys 400 Chromeboxes
Emergency service Fire and Rescue NSW has revealed it has dumped a number of traditional desktop PCs and plans to ditch more, as part of a widespread deployment of Google’s Chromebox cloud-based desktop platform which has so far seen some 400 of the gadgets deployed to fire stations throughout the state.
Victoria to trial IoT tech for better water management
In what it is calling "an Australian first", Victoria's South East Water has started trials of a new low-powered Internet of Things (IoT) technology to improve real-time monitoring and help to boost the reliability, efficiency and safety of its water and sewer assets.
“A disgrace”: Palmer slams Tassie IT jobs cull
Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer has strongly criticised a decision to shift the roles of some 56 Tasmanian IT workers employed by the Department of Human Services onto the mainland, describing the decision by the Federal Government as "a disgrace and a betrayal" by the Coalition.
NEXTDC inks leaseback deal for Brisbane DC
The directors of datacentre company NEXTDC have announced that the company has entered into a sale-and-leaseback agreement for its Brisbane datacentre property. During 2011, NEXTDC had announced a capital recycling program intended to unlock the increasing worth of its property assets and to re-invest the income in higher yielding datacentre infrastructure assets through sale-and-leaseback arrangements.
Westpac follows CBA with cardless ATM access
Remember how in the middle of last week, the Commonwealth Bank announced a raft of measures to reform mobile access to its infrastructure, including cardless access to ATM machines? Well, it appears the competition was watching. Barely had CommBank gotten its announcement out of the door when Westpac followed.
Photos: PM Gillard launches Macquarie datacentre
Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched Macquarie Telecom's new Sydney datacentre in Sydney last week. Macquarie is billing the facility, dubbed the 'Intellicentre 2' as Australia's most advanced high-security datacentre. It cost $60 million to build.
Qld dumps whole of government email project
Queensland's new LNP State Government late last week revealed plans to dump the troubled colossal whole of government email project begun under the previous Bligh Labor administration, with IT Minister Ros Bates highlighting the possibility to shift to a "cloud-based solution" instead.
“Chaos” in NSW Govt IT shared services
A landmark report into the management of the NSW Public Sector commissioned by the state's new Coalition Government has described how dozens of overlapping and competing systems and services providers have created "chaos" when it comes to the state's current IT shared services paradigm.
IAG creates next-gen IT leadership structure as the IT dept starts to break down
Insurer IAG has created a sophisticated new IT leadership structure reflecting the fact that digital disruption is sweeping through its business and it needs to have multiple divisions focused on different aspects of technology -- from operations to testing out new and innovative ideas.
Unisys wins DIAC again in open tender
Those of you with long memories will recall that the Federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship has contracted IT services giant Unisys to provide desktop support services to the department since 2007. Unisys this morning announced that it had won an open tender to retain the work through to at last mid-2018, at a value of $104.1 million.
Microsoft cranks up student indoctrination program
Chalk this one up to a bit of Microsoft mid-October marketing madness. The big M has started advertising for full-time students at Australian universities to spruik its products for it on campuses all around Australia.
Healthcare Australia dumps in-house Exchange for cloud
The shift to cloud computing/software as a service models in Australian enterprise IT circles is endless, it appears. Yesterday it was retailer Dick Smith switching to Google Apps, and today it’s medical recruiter Healthcare Australia switching off an in-house version of Microsoft Exchange and onto Office 365.
Budget 2016: NEC to deploy CrimTrac’s new biometrics platform
NEC Australia has been awarded the contract to deliver CrimTrac’s "next generation" biometrics crime-fighting tool, the Government has announced.
HP layoffs likely to hit Australia
Technology giant HP this morning said it expected its massive global job cuts -- which are expected to see some 27,000 employees exit the company -- to affect all of its regions across the world, with the implication that Australia will not be left off the list of locations to receive retrenchment targets.
Govt fails Gershon contractor targets
Remember how then-Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner commissioned British efficiency expert Sir Peter Gershon back in 2008 to undertake a review of the Federal Government’s use of ICT? Remember how one of the conclusions of Gershon’s review was that departments and agencies were asked to drastically reduce their use of external contractors? Well, according to iTNews, the Government has broadly failed to meet those targets.
Ormiston College deploys smart Wi-Fi network to boost learning
Brisbane's Ormiston College has deployed a high-capacity, high-speed Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi network across its campus to support the education of over 1,500 students.
US Govt proposes US$3.1bn fund to upgrade “legacy” IT systems
The US Government has proposed the creation of a US$3.1 billion (A$4.8 billion) modernisation fund to improve cybersecurity and save money by replacing or modernising "antiquated" IT systems with more secure, efficient and up-to-date technology.
NSW Govt trials inter-truck safety devices
The New South Wales Government has inked a contract with connected vehicle technology supplier Cohda Wireless, as part of a trial of so-called Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) which allow heavy vehicles to communicate directly with each other about their position on the road to help reduce road accidents.
Police unions want $100m national case management IT system
Police unions nationally have called for a mega-IT system to allow them to collaborate more effectively.
Nikoletatos swaps Curtin for ANU
High-profile Curtin University chief information officer Peter Nikoletatos has left his role to take up a similar position at the Australian National University.
AGIMO in flurry of cloud computing moves
The Federal Government’s peak technology strategy division has made a series of announcements aimed at pushing forward its vision with respect to public sector uptake of the new generation of cloud computing services and making such services available on the right terms to departments and agencies.
SA Govt forgets to pay phone bill
Think the Queensland and Western Australian State Governments have got problems with their technology shared services divisions? Well, they have. But at least they (we assume) pay their telephone bills on time. That isn’t precisely the case in South Australia, where the state’s Finance Minister yesterday revealed it couldn’t even get that right.
Westpac dumps desk phones for Samsung Android mobiles
The era of troublesome desk phones tied to physical locations is gradually coming to an end in many workplaces, with mobile phones becoming increasingly popular as organisations' main method of voice telecommunications. But some groups are more advanced than others when it comes to adoption of the trend. One of those is Westpac.
Victorian high school deploys Android tablets
Students and staff of years 9–12 at Brighton Grammar School, Victoria will each be provided with an Acer Iconia Tab A500, from this week onwards, Acer revealed in a statement yesterday. The move is part of what is being publicised as the first large Android program for an Australian school.
Clutch of Aussie manufacturers go NetSuite
Enterprise software company NetSuite this morning revealed that a clutch of Australian manufacturers including Headland, Precision Mechatronics and BA Equipment Group had recently adopted its software as a service platform, as the vendor continues to make headway in the mid-level customer market in Australia.
WiPro outsourcing takes chunk out of Woolworths
Retail giant Woolworths has confirmed the jobs of some 64 in-house technical staff will be affected as part of a wide-ranging IT infrastructure outsourcing contract inked last year with Indian IT services company WiPro.
Breaking Victoria’s IT fail cycle: What not to do
When almost every major IT project has broken its budget and its timeframe, and many have completely failed, after soaking up hundreds of millions of dollars of public money that could have been spent on health, education, cutting down crime or public transport, what happens now? Where does the Victorian State Governments and its technology workforce turn to?
Victorian Govt poor at managing telco spend
An audit of three of the Victorian Government's largest agencies has found that none can be confident that they are effectively managing their spend on telecommunications services.
Aussie email firm Atmail beats Gmail, Office 365 to Raine and Horne deal
Those of you with long memories may recall that Australia has its own version of Google’s Gmail or Microsoft’s Office 365 email platforms. The company is called Atmail and it’s based in Queensland. In November 2012 it picked up a cool $2 million in venture capital from Australian VC firm Starfish Ventures. Well, already Atmail looks to be picking up new local corporate clients. The AustralianIT reports this morning that real estate agency Raine and Horne recently picked Atmail for its new email platform, serving some 3,500 mailboxes.
Harbour City Ferries goes Microsoft across the board
Sydney Ferries operator Harbour City Ferries has recently undertaken a "significant" technology refresh project which has seen it deploy a slew of next-generation Microsoft products, from Windows 8 on PCs and tablets, to Windows Phone 8, Office 365 and more.
Most Qld Govt cloud data is going straight offshore
Queensland's Auditor-General has revealed that the State Government's 'cloud-first' policy has resulted in three quarters of the government data placed into cloud computing platforms going offshore, despite the availability of Australia-based cloud computing solutions.
EMC, Avaya get new Aussie chiefs
Enterprise IT vendors EMC and Avaya have revealed they have new leaders of their Australian divisions, following the promotion and departure of their local incumbent managing directors.
Last chance: Microsoft plans huge Win8 price hike
Microsoft Australia has confirmed that Australians have only several more days to buy its new Windows 8 operating system at promotional prices before it hikes its prices on the software massively as at the 1st of February.
Greens claim NSW LMBR project turning into a disaster
The NSW Greens late last week claimed to have obtained documents showing that the NSW Department of Education and Communities' wide-ranging Learning Management and Business Reform program, which involves a number of rolling upgrades of business administration software, was deployed before it was ready, with "appalling consequences for administrative staff, principals, teachers and students".
CommBank reveals Harte’s replacement
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has promoted an internal executive who joined the bank in September after a lengthy career at petroleum giant VP and IT services group Accenture to replace its outgoing chief information officer Michael Harte, who announced in early May that he would leave the bank.
Amazon extends Sydney datacentre offerings
Cloud computing giant Amazon Web Services has launched several new services through its Sydney datacentre previously only available from international facilities, giving Australian customers access to a low-cost storage service designed for long-term backup, as well as a fast data warehouse service.
CommBank’s deep innovation is redefining our notion of what a bank is
The remarkable wave of technological innovation emanating from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is forcing Australians to redefine their fundamental concept of what a bank is, and reimagine what their basic relationship to such an institution should be.
Questions & answers: Microsoft Australia’s Dynamics chief on CRM
Thomas Gudman is Microsoft Australia's new director of its Dynamics Business. In this interview, Delimiter questions Gudman about Microsoft's Dynamics CRM business in Australia, which competes in the market for enterprise software with fellow industry titans like Oracle and Salesfore.com.
330k users: Google Apps hits Catholic schools
Search giant Google has revealed its Google Apps software as a service platform has been deployed to some 330,000 students, teachers and administrative staff at Catholic schools across Australia, in one of the largest local known rollouts of the platform so far.
Woolworths dumps BlackBerrys for iPhones
This morning The Australian newspaper reported (we recommend you click here for the full article) that BlackBerry is completely out and iPhone in at the retailer.
Adecco dumps handsets for softphones with Optus, Cisco
news Human resources group Adecco yesterday revealed it had undertaken a substantial refresh of its internal telephony and Internet platform with the primary assistance...
Adobe dumps Creative Suite: ‘Cloud’ subscription only for next version
Overnight in the US, Adobe revealed it would exclusively focus on its subscription offerings in future. That's right: If you want to buy Photoshop or other applications in Creative Suite in future, you won't be able to -- you'll only be able to lease them.
Amazon Appstore challenging Google Play as Australian launch looms
Australian Android users will soon have an alternative source for sourcing paid and free mobile apps, but will they embrace it? Yes, if the first analysis of Amazon Appstore sales figures – which suggests the site is rapidly increasing its appeal to US consumers as a source of paid apps – is any indication.
Myer fail displays appalling IT, business incompetency
The week-long outage of Myer's website starkly displays the fact that the company and its outsourcing partner IBM had failed to properly develop and test their infrastructure or put in place the most basic disaster recovery and business continuity plan, as well as highlighting the incredible immaturity of online retailing in Australia.
NSW Govt to appoint yet another whole of government CIO
I'll be the first to admit if -- and I'll be happy about it -- I am proven wrong. But all the evidence from the past shows that this appointment will ultimately amount to little.
Disaster in the making? Govt embarks on mammoth IT shared services scheme
The Federal Government has issued a landmark discussion paper seeking industry and other stakeholder opinions on how it can best implement a strategic shared services scheme to serve the needs of its departments and agencies, despite the fact that this very same model has abjectly failed several Australian State Governments over the past half-decade and been abandoned.
LNP sacks 80 from CITEC
Not satisfied with terminating some 384 technology contractors already this year and running the axe over the IT department at the state's education department, Queensland's new LNP Government led by Premier Campbell Newman has now turned its attention to IT shared services unit CITEC.
Whole of Govt CIO Steward retires
Australia’s Whole of Government chief information officer Ann Steward this week announced her intention to retire from the public service after seven years leading peak IT strategy agency the Australian Government Information Management Office and long years more in the global public sector generally.
IBM Australia sacking staff again
It seems as if, when it comes to major Australian technology companies such as Telstra, Optus, HP and IBM, there are always 'moves, adds and changes' going on in these giants' workforces.
Australia’s IT shared services paradigm is dead
It appears that shared services are having a hard time. Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria have all had their fair share of issues with shared services, and this is happening quite consistently in other parts of the world.
Microsoft’s Dynamics Online wins ASD certification
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, a customer relationship management software package, has passed Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) certification to host unclassified but sensitive government data.
AARNet peers with Amazon Web Services
Work for one of Australia's universities and use Amazon Web Services? Your life just got a little better. Today AARNet, the telecommunications network serving Australia's university sector, announced it would peer with AWS for fun and profit.
Cloud central to Oxfam IT overhaul
The Australian division of relief and development organisation Oxfam has revealed plans to conduct a substantial fundamental IT infrastructure refresh project which will see a number of traditional in-house IT services replaced with new cloud computing technologies.
Defence appoints Mohan as new CTO
The Department of Defence has appointed a new chief technology officer, nicking senior Toll IT executive Aiyaswami Mohan to replace its previous CTO Matt Yannopoulous, who left in October last year to take up the role of chief information officer at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Uni of Queensland to deploy private cloud
The University of Queensland has revealed plans to deploy a significant swathe of private cloud infrastructure, as it ramps up plans to provide its individual faculties and divisions with a centralised pool of computing resources that can easily provision hundreds of virtual servers.
NAB moves website into Amazon cloud
In an article in The Australian newspaper this morning, it was revealed that NAB had switched its entire public-facing website into Amazon’s cloud (excluding, of course, sensitive areas such as Internet banking).
NSW Govt appoints whole of government CIO
news The NSW Government has appointed respected former Westpac, Macquarie Bank and Woolworths IT executive Damon Rees to the newly created role of whole...
Disaster ahead? NSW Govt unveils massive SaaS ERP consolidation
The New South Wales State Government has unveiled plans for a massive technology-led project to consolidate a number of different enterprise resource planning systems onto just two new platforms, in a style of project which has historically led to cost blow-outs and extended project delays for similar initiatives accross Australian State Governments.
It’s not just HP: Boral picked Oracle too
Oracle takes a chunk of Boral, alongside HP.
Qantas deploys 2,200 iPads to pilots
Pilots on the nation’s biggest airline Qantas will shortly starting using iPads to access the wide range of operational information they need to do their job instead of printed paper, under a partnership announced today between the airline and telco partner Telstra.
Data#3 revenues up, but profits down
Australian diversified ICT services group Data#3 Limited on Monday reported a 15 per cent increase in group revenue at $435.8 million for the second half of 2011, in line with projections and well ahead of overall industry growth. However, the net profit after tax (NPAT) of $7.2 million was down 9.5 per cent from the previous year, which was a particularly good one for the company.
SA Govt follows WA, Qld away from ICT shared services
One would hope that the Federal Government will be closely examining the experiences that states such as South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia have had with shared services, before it commits to its own shared services approach. Because to rush in haphazardly would be dangerous indeed.
Big “Legacy” ERP being ripped apart and is almost dead, says Gartner
Enterprise IT analyst firm Gartner has warned that large, monolithic and heavily customised in-house enterprise resource planning systems will be relegated to the status of "legacy ERP" over the next several years, as smaller, nimbler and often cloud computing-based alternatives eat the lunch of this old mainstay of the IT application portfolio.
NSW reforms ICT services contracts
Looks like the New South Wales Government is making good on its promises to reform the way the state purchases technology services, as part of its overall IT strategy. This week we received a media release on the issue from Minister for Finance and Services Greg Pearce.
Aussie firms deploy corporate social network tibbr
Software giant Tibco has revealed that two sizable Australian companies, accounting group HLB Mann Judd and real estate agency Compton Green, have deployed its internal corporate social networking platform tibbr to streamline their internal communications.
Madness? Holmesglen TAFE upgrades GroupWise
It’s been a while since I’ve seen any Australian organisation of any kind have any words of praise for Novell’s ailing GroupWise collaboration suite. The trend is overwhelmingly that organisations are continually ditching it for alternatives, typically Microsoft’s Outlook/Exchange platform. However, if an article published by ZDNet is to be believed, at least one organisation is sticking with the Novell warhorse.
Ninemsn shifts hosting to … Amazon?
We knew Amazon Web Services had robust infrastructure — after all, the Commonwealth Bank hosts some of its services with the cloud computing giant — but we didn’t know that it was quite this robust. The AustralianIT reports today (we recommend you click here for the full article) that one of Australia’s largest web sites, Ninemsn, is actually hosted with Amazon:
IBM’s Watson is reportedly expanding into Woodside’s desktops
For most of the time that IBM's Watson artificial intelligence (for want of a better word) system has been around, I suspect many technology journalists such as myself have viewed the platform as something of a toy -- a pet project which Big Blue can use to demonstrate its deep technology research credentials and wow live quiz shows on television. But if this article by iTnews is any indication, Watson is moving past that into something rather more functional.
‘It’s not our fault’: IBM blames Govt for payroll disaster
Diversified technology products and services giant IBM has rejected a number of the findings included in the Commission of Audit's inquiry into Queensland Health's botched payroll systems upgrade, blaming the majority of responsibility for the catastrophic consequences of the botched initiatives on the State Government.
Retail giant gets wild-and-Woolies with Google Apps
Point-of-sale terminals may seem to be changing on a weekly basis, but it’s not every day that the country’s largest retailer makes a major back-end platform shift. Little surprise, then, that there has been such great interest in a company blog post announcing that Woolworths has decided to shift its 26,000 employees to the cloud-based Google Apps platform.