Insider Brief
- IBM Australia’s $725 million deal with the country’s Digital Transformation Agency covers emerging tech such as quantum computing.
- The arrangement will allow government agencies to work with IBM on whether — and how — they can use quantum computers for some of their most challenging problems.
- Image: Chris Fechner, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Transformation Agency & Nicholas Flood, Managing Director IBM Australia & Vice President IBM Technology (IMB)
Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency agreed to a $725 million deal with IBM Australia for essential technology products and services, even emerging tech such as quantum computing, the Australian Associated Press reported.
The agreement is spread over five years and helps departments better share resources.
IBM reports that under the new arrangement, government agencies will continue to have access to IBM’s suite of technology capabilities, including quantum computing. The arrangement will allow government agencies to work with IBM on whether — and how — they can use quantum computers for some of their most challenging problems.
In a statement, the company writes: “Quantum computing has the potential to tackle some of the hardest computational challenges across sectors that today’s most-powerful classical supercomputers cannot solve and never will. IBM has a long history of advancing quantum computing technology and brings decades of research to the quantum computing industry — from theory to the entire technology stack. This work has positioned IBM as a quantum industry leader, with unmatched accessibility and resources via the globe’s largest fleet of quantum computers available through the cloud.”
Australian IBM managing director told Australian Financial Times that the agreement is based on flexibility and scalability.
“As government agencies respond to emerging issues, they require agility and flexibility to adopt and scale up certain types of technology as needed,” Flood told the paper. “IBM’s new arrangement helps to enable this, providing agencies with the flexibility to adopt technology at their own pace and adjust the types of technology they use to best suit their needs in the future.”
The agreement applies to about 96 different agencies in the country.
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