Maryland Outsources HR Technology Operations To ACSMaryland Outsources HR Technology Operations To ACS

The State of Maryland's Department of Human Resources is handing over the operation of its computer systems to a team of outsourcers led by Affiliated Computer Systems under a deal valued at $110 million, according to a statement released Tuesday by ACS.

ACS, along with IBM, Syscom, and a group of minority-owned vendors, will handle mainframe management, Web hosting, disaster recovery, application services, and help desk functions for the state's Human Resources department under a three-year deal. The contract has been approved by Maryland's Board of Public Works.

Last month, Maryland's State Highway Administration outsourced development and operation of its Coordinated Highways Action Response Team to Computer Sciences Corp. for up to 10 years under deal worth up to $44 million. CHART seeks to automate the delivery of highway information to first responders and coordinate their efforts. It also uses the Web to provide real-time traffic and weather information to the traveling public.

IT outsourcing by state and local governments is expected to grow from $10 billion in 2005 to $18 billion in 2010, according to market research firm Input. Application management and desktop services will drive most of the growth, Input says.