The Texas Department of Transportation reported it signed a deal with NTT Data to privatize portions of its information technology functions. The agency said its present IT workers may be retained by the department or will be offered positions with NTT Data for at least six months.

NTT Data will assume responsibility for support of application maintenance and development, customer support, network and telecommunications systems support, professional services and IT security.

“The partnership is the result of a rigorous year-long process that began with the development of an IT strategy to respond to specific needs,” according to the department. “The extensive selection process for an IT partner began in January with a request for offer (RFO) and proceeded with interviews and negotiations.”

The Texas Department of Transportation maintains more than 80,000 miles of road in Texas.