The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) has awarded Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) a contract to provide IT managed services for DISA's Unisys ClearPath mainframe environment.
The contract, awarded in the fourth quarter of 2009, is worth an estimated $187 million over its 5-year term. The award enables work Unisys has performed under a previous 5-year task order to continue without interruption. Under the contract, Unisys will provide additional mainframe processing capacity and support services for the agency's ClearPath systems that support Air Force logistics, Defense Finance and Accounting Service financial activities, and other Department of Defense applications. Unisys will also upgrade DISA's mainframe and storage environment, including installation of a virtual tape library storage solution.
According to Unisys, the ClearPath Dorado 700 Series is designed for transaction processing environments-especially those requiring continuous availability for highly variable performance workloads-and computing tasks requiring high security. Like other members of the ClearPath family, the Dorado 700 Series offers clients the ability to match computing expenditures to their business requirements. Through metering-a pay-for-use systems software licensing capability-clients can maximize system capacity during peaks and minimize costs when usage is low. This allows them to pay for the exact amount of processing power they use, as they use it.
"This contract represents an extension of a longstanding relationship between Unisys, DISA and DISA clients such as the Air Force," said Jim Geiger, managing partner, Department of Defense, Unisys Federal Systems. "Our relationship with the Air Force began in 1983, and this contract will continue to support the service's logistics and other applications. Unisys will continue to support these critical applications to help our Defense Department clients achieve their missions."