Introduction

Accenture, a Fortune Global 500 company, has landed a Defense vetting system overhaul deal worth $114 million. Under this deal, the Department of Defense has chosen the tech giant as its system integrator for its overhaul of Australia’s core security vetting IT system. This deal will give Accenture the opportunity to upgrade the AGSVA’s (Australian Government Security Vetting Agency) system over the next 4.5 years, as a part of Defense’s vetting transformation project.

More about Accenture’s deal with AGSVA

The vetting transformation, or commonly known as ICT2270 in military circles, commenced in the year 2017 in order to implement a vast suite of reforms to enhance the management of threats of government agencies posed by malicious insiders. These reforms came after an audit in 2015, which unveiled AGSVA systems, ePack2 along with the PSAMS2 (Personnel Security Assessment Management System), were not enough for the vetting processes. 

What’s more concerning is that the inadequacies persisted despite an earlier investment of $37 million by Defense to enhance and upgrade both systems, that are used for case management as well as the security vetting pack’s online submission. 

With the ICT2270, Australian Defense is supposed to establish a more efficient and automated vetting service that enables sponsoring entities to easily log into a safe and secure portal to access risk notices.

A spokesperson said that this project achieved second pass approval last year in December (the same month the ANAO (Australian National Audit Office) released its 2nd follow-up audit relating to vetting. 

This audit comes after an equally crucial initial follow-up audit in 2018 from ANAO, which found AGSVA’s security vetting services don’t effectively mitigate exposure of the government to insider threats. 

See Also: Adtech company Amobee launches its platform OOH in Australia

Accenture: An American-Irish IT services giant

Accenture is a multinational giant that sells IT consulting and processing services across the globe. It was founded in 1989 by Clarence DeLany. Accenture is headquartered in Ireland and its current Chief Executive Officer is Julie Sweet (since 2019). Its subsidiaries include IMJ Corporation, OpusLine SAS and Avande. 

It is a Fortune Global 500 tech company that reported revenue of more than $44 billion in the year 2020 and has about 506000 employees working for it around the world. Accenture has a staff of 48000 in the United states, 50000 in the Philippines and 150,000 in India.

New York Stock Exchange-listed company Accenture (NYSE:ACN) completed the acquisition of End-to-End Analytics, a data science and analytics company, in 2020.

Conclusion

Accenture’s $114 million deal to overhaul Australia’s core security vetting system marks a major step in enhancing national security. With the responsibility to upgrade AGSVA’s IT infrastructure, Accenture will play a key role in transforming the defense vetting process. This deal is part of a broader initiative to address deficiencies in the existing system and mitigate insider threats, ensuring a more efficient and secure vetting process for the government.

FAQs

1. What is Accenture’s role in this deal?
Accenture has been chosen as the system integrator for Australia’s Defense Department’s overhaul of the AGSVA’s security vetting IT system. They will work to enhance and automate the security vetting process.

2. How much is the deal worth?
The deal is worth $114 million and will span over the next 4.5 years.

3. What is ICT2270?
ICT2270 is the name of the Australian Defense’s vetting transformation project aimed at improving the efficiency and automation of security vetting services.

4. Why is this deal necessary?
The current AGSVA systems, ePack2 and PSAMS2, have proven inadequate for the vetting process, even after a previous investment of $37 million. This deal is aimed at addressing these deficiencies.

5. What were the findings of the 2018 ANAO audit?
The 2018 ANAO audit found that AGSVA’s security vetting services were not effectively mitigating the risks of insider threats within the government.

6. What is Accenture?
Accenture is a global IT services company, specializing in consulting, technology services, and outsourcing. It was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Ireland.

7. How large is Accenture?
Accenture has over 506,000 employees worldwide and reported over $44 billion in revenue in 2020.

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