The four companies covered under the contracts include Acer for the supply of notebook equipment, Dell and Volante for the desktop and Hewlett-Packard for desktop and server equipment.

The announcement is part of the government's future ICT procurement program.

Infrastructure Minister Patrick Conlon said the contracts will provide improved value for money through a substantial reduction in the unit price of equipment.

"The contracts will also result in reduced purchasing transaction costs at an agency level, through the introduction of streamlined purchasing processes," Conlon said.

"There will also be an increased focus on standardization of the equipment purchased by agencies, thus facilitating a potential reduction in agency infrastructure support costs over time."