KAZ Group Limited (KAZ) today announces its Technology Services...

KAZ Group Limited (KAZ) today announces its Technology Services division has won a managed services contract with Melbourne based Orica Australia Pty Ltd valued at more than $10 million over five years. The contract also includes a technology refresh of Orica's enterprise IT infrastructure and leverages the latest capacity on demand computing technologies.

Orica, one of Australia's largest public companies, has an annual turnover of $4 billion. The company has more than 9000 employees working in four business areas: mining services, chemicals, fertilisers and consumer products. The latter group includes household names such as Dulux, British Paints, Walpamur, Selleys and Yates.

The contract is designed to provide Orica with higher availability – that is, next generation IBM computing technology that provides greater resilience, higher scalability and a facility to accommodate computing power to variable business requirements and associated cost structures.

Key features of the contract incorporate a split production environment spanning two data centres, an enhanced Disaster Recovery capability, and a technology refresh which incorporates virtualised and autonomic capabilities and technologies. These features will be provided via KAZ's 24x7 data centre support services which include operational and technical support and a service delivery model tailored to enable a seamless delivery of service under Orica's IT Shared Services function.

Orica's decision to award the contract to KAZ followed a rigorous open tender and review of proposals from Tier One and large Tier Two outsourcing providers. KAZ offered the most innovative and competitive solution to meet Orica's requirements. Instrumental in KAZ's success was a proven track record in service delivery and customer service to many clients including Incitec Pivot Ltd, an Orica acquired business and a customer of KAZ since 2000.

Leigh Rowe, Orica's Manager of IT Shared Services comments, "Orica is in a period of growth, which means we need absolutely reliable systems that can scale quickly to reflect changing market demands.

"It was vital we chose an outsourcing partner who is willing and able to offer us flexibility as well as a high degree of technical expertise. KAZ's flat management structure meant decisions could be made locally and quickly. This was a critical requirement to ensure that Orica's Shared Services function can adapt quickly to the ever changing needs of our businesses. In addition KAZ's work with Incitec Pivot Ltd demonstrates their capabilities and customer commitment. We are looking forward to working with KAZ in the months ahead."

Andrew Richardson, Managing Director KAZ Technical Services adds, "KAZ is delighted to have been chosen as the technology and outsourcing partner that will help Orica strengthen its capacity to support national and global markets. Across its operations, Orica's benchmarks are global best practice – and we are looking forward to working with the company to maintain these very high standards in the coming months and years."