Arizona’s state government is spending $98 million over the next five years to replace outdated and redundant networking systems. The effort, called AZNet, has already saved taxpayers $3.8 million.

The effort is called AZNet and is being executed by Accenture, an outside consulting group. The five-year contract is worth $98 million and was awarded to the company in 2005.

"The big thing was, we actually put together a centralized funding model for the project that is supported by the federal government," said Steve Demarest, senior executive for the project. "We have transitioned the entire agency of the executive branch to that model."

The original contract has already been extended by two years. By the end of the project, 40,000 people employed by the state will be using the new networking capabilities, which include integrated phone, data and video systems.

"They’re getting new capabilities in terms of integrated possibilities," Demarest said. "Now it’s basically moving to a single network where they can actually implement all different kinds of call plans and they have videoconferencing abilities. There’s lots of just little office automation capabilities that they’re getting that they didn’t have before."

Another one of the project’s accomplishments is establishing a direct network from Tucson to Phoenix, which allows the state to save money and prepare for any type of disaster.

"That gives them the kind of geographic diversity they need," Demarest said. "Since it’s linked over a high speed network, it’s pretty seamless. It’s a big risk reduction."

During the next few years, he said somewhere between 22,000 and 24,000 phones will be replaced to help accommodate the new network.

"Sixty to 70 percent of telecommunications would move into end of life." Demarest said. "What we’re actually doing is forecasting now what’s going into end of life and replacing."

By the end of the project, the company estimates that it will save the state $38 million.

"Basically the savings are tracked very, very carefully," Demarest said. "It’s a cumulative total … since these are recurring costs that are saved."

He said there is still is much to do.

"The state’s got lots and lots of extremely old, obsolete technology," Demarest said.