NASA has signed a new multi-million pound IT outsourcing contract which will see the space agency provided with external IT support.

Managed at the NASA Shared Services Centre in Mississippi, US, the ten-year deal with see the provision of various end-user tech services by an external outsourcing provider.

Control over NASA’s personal computing hardware, agency-standard software, mobile IT services, peripherals and accessories will be outsourced.

Associated end-user services and supporting infrastructure will also be provided by a third party under the new agreement.

NASA personnel use IT to perform a number of functions, including supporting its core business, scientific, research and computational activities.

In the UK, a number of local authorities – including Birmingham City Council – have turned to IT outsourcing in recent months in response to government funding cuts.