News Release /
Unisys Modernises New Zealand Transport Agency’s IT Infrastructure by Migrating 1.7 Billion Records to Windows Platform
New platform allows department to reduce costs and offer services via a greater range of online channels
Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that it has successfully migrated more than 1.7 billion driver and
vehicle records for the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) in the final stage of a business transformation programme designed to increase the agency’s flexibility and reduce the
cost of its IT infrastructure.
The NZTA is responsible for New Zealand’s land transport system, including the implementation of laws, regulations and
rules. Unisys has worked with the NZTA for more than 20 years, supporting the driver and motor vehicle registries
systems through which agents, commercial customers and the public interact with the agency. These mission critical
systems support approximately 1 million daily transactions and support core business operations for the NZTA.
The NZTA embarked on the migration project four years ago. While the agency’s prior legacy system was extremely reliable
and met its performance needs, the NZTA needed to modernise its IT infrastructure to address end-of-life support issues,
quickly reflect New Zealand’s increasingly frequent legislative changes and to improve the online experience for New
Zealanders.
“The NZTA is committed to using technology to reduce operational costs while improving how we deliver services to
customers,” said Mr Craig Soutar, the NZTA’s CIO. “Unisys developed and implemented an innovative modernisation
programme that allows us to develop web and mobile-enabled applications and provides more flexibility in the way that we
engage with our customers.”
The NZTA used Unisys Application Advisory services to define a ‘mission critical modernisation roadmap’ for enhancing
the agency’s software platforms. This included identifying the issues, risks, objectives, guiding principles and
expectations of the NZTA as well as assessing the current business and technology capabilities and defining the ideal
future state of the business and its supporting technology.
As part of the modernisation programme, Unisys migrated the department’s driver licence and motor vehicle registries to
a Windows-based Unisys ES7000 and ES3000 platform running Unisys Agile Business Suite. The migration effort involved
more than 1.7 billion records, almost 350 database tables, 500 reports, 65 APIs and approximately 700 green screens. The
ES7000 and ES3000 servers are hosted in Unisys’ Auckland and Kapiti data centres.
The NZTA estimates that it has saved approximately NZ$80 million through the modernisation effort compared to the cost
of replacing the registry systems.
“Modernising our existing systems by migrating them onto a Windows platform has reduced system complexity to aid faster
response to legislative changes as well as provided the opportunity to develop new online and mobile channels to engage
with customers. We achieved our business transformation without the need to completely rip out and replace our systems,
and continued to deliver services to our customers in the process. It is an approach that other organisations seeking to
modernise their IT infrastructure should consider,” Mr Soutar said.
Ms Kate Giles, Sales Manager, Technology Consulting Integration Services, Unisys New Zealand, said that ensuring the
agency’s business continuity was a key focus during the migration.
“The central register is a critical element in the agency’s infrastructure as it holds all information about drivers’
licences and motor vehicle registrations in New Zealand. We needed to modernise the IT infrastructure while continuing
to deliver our ‘business as usual’ services such as accommodating legislative changes in the agency’s systems. Recent
major legislative changes implemented while the transformation was taking place include new road user charges and the introduction of an alcohol interlock programme,” said Ms Giles.
About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology
that solves critical problems for clients. We specialise in helping clients secure their operations, increase the
efficiency and utilisation of their data centres, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernise
their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in
outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and
high-end server technology. With approximately 22,500 employees, Unisys serves commercial organisations and government
agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
About Unisys Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, Unisys delivers services and solutions through subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan and through distributors or resellers in other countries in the region. For more information visit www.unisys.co.nz. Follow us on www.twitter.com/UnisysAPAC.
####
Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged
to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
ENDS