Mahesh Sharma | July 04, 2008
THE Department of Defence is looking for a partner to help extract greater value from its Microsoft software licensing agreement, with the move set to have a big impact on the technology giant's deals across the federal Government.

The Department of Defence is looking for a partner to help extract greater value from its Microsoft software licensing agreement.
Defence has gone to market for a large account reseller to re-negotiate its contracts with Microsoft and provide deliverables specified in a "head agreement".
However, the tender documents said Defence will also be the lead agency to negotiate a Microsoft whole-of-government volume sourcing arrangement.
This means that via Defence’s head agreement, any federal Government agency will be able to acquire Microsoft software licences as a separate contract, eliminating the need to tender for the work on their own.
An industry briefing of Defence’s request for tender will take place next Wednesday in Canberra.
The closing date for tenders is August 4, with a decision to be made the following week.
Microsoft this week named Dell Australia a large account reseller and enterprise software advisor.