Western Australia’s GovNext-ICT program, currently at start-up stage, has a number of phases – with each promising so much to the local community.
For NEC Australia, this means working closely with our specialist partners, statewide and interstate. We’ll also expand our local office network to ensure that our part in this major, long-term project – GovNext-ICT – meets and exceeds expectations.
NEC has more than 200 channel partners coast to coast in Australia, working closely with leading technology vendors including NetApp, Fortinet, Commvault & Cisco who are key to the delivery of the NEC GovNext solution. While these relationships are significant, most importantly in WA, we’ll gain input from home-grown, specialist ICT providers such as Empired, a leader - in Perth and nationally - in cloud service development.
This is vital as we gear up to implement the all-new, ICT service consumption model in the West which will be the envy of many states: enabling government departments and agencies in Perth and statewide to benefit.
We will support the transition of WA Government agencies across education, health, public safety, finance, transport, roads, community services and other areas to a government-wide service model that allows each agency to select the most appropriate ICT service for their environment.
This consumption model means these diverse departments and agencies can access the best-pricing for data and information storage and will only need to pay for what they use.
Savings will also be achieved through significantly improved efficiency, reduced licensing fees and infrastructure costs as well as through building management, hardware maintenance and insurance.
We will also provide data centre co-location services, private cloud services, public cloud integration, network and communication services, identity management and ICT operations.
Finally, NEC will deliver networks that are agile - able to support the increasing number of mobile and data-reliant devices, while ensuring the security of data.
Our 150-strong WA team, located at our office in Murray Street, Perth, is already excited to be part of the GovNext-ICT project. This may grow in years to come, with the potential, in the future, for the office to deliver solutions more broadly across the region, further supporting local jobs, innovation and industry.
In specifically delivering the GovNext-ICT project, the local team will work consultatively, both within Government and across the state. This consultative approach is one of the most important steps for us as we plan ahead to ensure success in delivering on behalf of the GovNext-ICT program.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve already invested hundreds of hours understanding the core challenge and potential solutions through extensive, initial engagement.
We’ve also worked closely with the community and departments to identify the technology and solution sets that best meet the state’s long-term needs. In doing so, we have chosen from a broad range of services and products to tailor the right solutions – and, in the next few years, we’ll bring these together to deliver an optimal storage outcome.
All the while, we’ll liaise with all key stakeholders, including the broader community, to ensure that the final solution meets the Government’s – and residents’ – needs across Australia’s largest state.
This consultative approach is one that we’ve followed in neighbouring states and territories – including the Northern Territory (NT), where we’ve had a strong presence for more than a decade, delivering a wide range of projects for Federal and local government agencies.
In the NT, we also work closely with local communities to ensure that benefits are widespread. We have a long-established apprenticeship program, and an important indigenous traineeship program, which further support local ICT capabilities.
The Territory is also a key part of our national graduate program, which has seen 10 graduates already placed nationally in 2017. Nationally, we have graduates in NSW, VIC and SA who are all part of our program to invest further in to the future of ICT careers in Australia.
In this way, we are committed to the development of markets – and local talent – enhancing local communities.
In WA, we will support the 140,000 government users, with the capacity for the storage solution to grow significantly as the state’s needs continue to evolve.
And in the next 12 months, we’ll see local collaboration and input – and, most importantly, local expertise leveraged – as the project gets underway.
Collaborating closely with our customers, partners, and locals, we’ll strive to add value at every opportunity in the West. In this way, we plan to build not just a cutting-edge ICT solution, but a vibrant future.
