The Victorian government has renewed its state purchasing contract with Amazon Web Services, giving public servants an “enhanced” way to buy hundreds of cloud services from the hyperscaler.
The renewed deal, the exact value of which has not been disclosed, is the first to be signed under the federal government’s multimillion-dollar AWS sourcing arrangement since it was renewed earlier this year.
AWS said that by “joining” the arrangement, which has come under fire after growing to more than $300 million in value in less than six months, the Victorian public sector would “unlock streamlined access to over 240 cloud services”.
Announced in April, the whole-of-government arrangement expanded pricing and support benefits to all public sector entities, including all levels of government, including local councils, state and federal governments.
But Victoria’s existing state purchase contract (SPC) with the Department of Government Services, signed in 2022, already provides agencies with a standardised way to buy AWS cloud services.
Asked what the specific benefits of this arrangement were for state agencies, a spokesperson representing AWS told InnovationAus.com that benefits would differ on a case-by-case basis.
The previous SPC was valued at $20 million a year, a fraction of Microsoft’s $200 million annual state contract, but far larger than Google Cloud’s SPC last year, as previously reported.
Louise Stigwood, AWS A/NZ managing director for public sector, described the new agreement as a “milestone in Victoria’s digital journey”, allowing the state to “accelerate the delivery of innovative, secure, and cost-effective services”.
In the lead up to the new agreement, AWS has helped train public servants in the ethical use and application of artificial intelligence, which Victoria is planning to use in place of outdated regulatory technology.
“This proactive approach guarantees that as Victoria embraces new technologies, it maintains the highest standards of security, privacy, and ethical considerations in service delivery,” AWS said in a statement.
The company currently has two dedicated cloud regions in Australia: one in Melbourne and another in Sydney. Its Melbourne region came online in January 2023, while the Sydney region has served local customers since November 2012.
AWS is planning to spend $20 billion on a significant expansion of its data centre infrastructure footprint over the next five years, with the funding also used to cover the electricity requirements of the new facilities.
It has already committed to purchasing 170-megawatts of electricity from three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland, operated by renewables power giant European Energy, as part of the investment.
Victoria’s Economic Growth minister Danny Pearson said the investment in Victoria“ demonstrates strong confidence in our state’s digital future”, creating jobs and strengthening the state’s position as a technology hub.
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