Worldwide information technology company Unisys Corporation ( UIS - Analyst Report ) recently announced that Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment has extended the contract with its Australian subsidiary for managed information technology (IT) support services for an additional two-year period. The renewed contract worth $31 million will entail Unisys to provide IT services to 82 campuses across 13 Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Queensland institutes and the Australian Agricultural College. The contract is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2014.

Unisys already has business tie-ups with TAFE Queensland and the contract renewal reinforces this long-term relationship spanning 15 years. With this contract, Unisys will support approximately 500 servers and 21,000 desktops, besides managing the wide area networks and providing help services to approximately 74,000 support calls annually. Unisys is currently focusing on business opportunities in fewer but more profitable markets in the IT marketplace and the contract extension is likely to complement this initiative.

Management is highly encouraged by its association with Queensland. The company expects to work diligently to improve the efficiency and productivity of its clients and thereby strengthen its position in the market.

Based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, Unisys specializes in helping clients to secure their operations, increase efficiency and utilize their data centers, enhance support to their end users and constituents and modernize their enterprise applications. The primary market that Unisys serves worldwide includes financial services, communications, and transportation, commercial and public sector, including the U.S. federal government.

Unisys currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a long-term Underperform recommendation. One of its competitors, Accenture plc ( ACN - Snapshot Report ) also carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).