The federal government has announced the first stage of a new online digital marketplace that will enable start-ups to access its $5 billion annual spend on ICT projects. The marketplace is part of the government $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda and is being led by the Digital Transformation Office (DTO). Minister for industry, innovation and science, Christopher Pyne, said the marketplace will be an online catalogue of services, people and technology to assist the government with service transformation. “We are keen to open this up to smaller and newly-established businesses who have traditionally found it too big a burden to prove their credentials to government. There have been too many hoops to jump through so they simply haven’t bothered to apply for government ICT work,” Pyne said in a statement. “That’s a lost opportunity because we know lots of businesses are on the cutting edge of digital innovation and can provide exciting solutions for government to deliver better services at a lower cost.” The DTO is establishing a series of targeted panels of providers while the marketplace is being built. The government has already launched digital specialists’ panel – the first of three panels – for companies in this field to apply through Austender. Assistant minister for cities and digital transformation, Angus Taylor, said this panel will make it easier for government agencies to access digital expertise to supplement their teams. “These are just the first steps in a greater collaboration between government and the tech industry,” he said. Over the coming months, the DTO will examine the obstacle that block ICT suppliers from providing digital products and services to government. Discovery on the digital marketplace begins next month with a public beta expected by the end of 2016. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe