World-first EDS deal in 1995, outsourcing all state government data processing, starts South Australia's IT industry

South Australian premier Dean Brown (right) signed the world-first 10-year $565 million deal with EDS (Electronic Data System) in 1995 that outsourced data procesessing for the whole of his government. EDS made its headquarters in Adelaide city at a new building (left) at the western section of North Terrace.
Images courtesy Jocon (Joseph Constructions) and the University of South Australia

Premier Dean Brown’s Liberal South Australian government was the first in the world to outsource its data processing for the whole of government, giving birth to an information technology industry in the state.

A 10-year $565 million contract was signed between EDS (Electronic Data System) and the South Australian government in October 1995, with the deal designed to save the government $100 million over the life of the contract. The Texas-based company, with 85,000 employees worldwide and a turnover of $14 billion, bought the South Australian government's existing computer hardware, worth $19 million, and was initially expected to fold 285 government staff into its 600-strong Australian operations.

EDS took on managing 80% of the state government's computing needs, ranging from work in the education department to the motor registrations division from May 1996. That year, 208 South Australian government information and technology staff, from its computing division Southern Systems, were transferred to EDS to run the state's information technology infrastructure as part of handing over computing work for 140 government agencies. The company also began advertising 207 more South Australian jobs ranging from information technology managers to systems administrators, network and communication managers and clerical and administration positions.

EDS originally committed to build a $150 million Asia-Pacific resource centre at the site for Adelaide's Multi-Function Polis project that was abandoned in 1998. Instead, EDS became headquartered in Adelaide city in a new North Terrace building completed in 1999.

Electronic Data Systems (EDS) was an American multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas, founded in 1962 by Ross Perot. The company was a subsidiary of General Motors from 1984 until it was spun off in 1996. EDS was bought by Hewlett-Packard in 2008 and integrated into Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services that branding the next year.  In 2017, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services merged with Computer Sciences Corporation to form DXC Technology.

With the original government-EDS deal expired, DXC Technology continued to have South Australian government contracts, notably with TAFE (Technical and Further Education).