Laura Hyde |
Microsoft is to extend its global data centre footprint to Western Australia (WA) in order to meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services across the Australian state. An Azure Extended Zone is expected to be deployed to the state’s capital city Perth by mid 2025.
“The addition of these new capabilities in Western Australia builds on Microsoft’s strong history of delivering state-of-the-art technologies to the public and private sectors,” said Steven Worrall, managing director at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand. “This cutting-edge infrastructure will play a crucial role in enhancing the accessibility, efficiency and reliability of essential services for Western Australians. It will also empower businesses in WA to innovate and grow, driving significant transformation across industries.”
The expansion will improve service delivery for public and private sector customers including the WA government.
The government will use the better access to cloud and AI services to improve its healthcare and education operations.
This builds on the government’s Industries Acceleration Strategy, which aims to ensure businesses and industries are “digitally secure, enabled and empowered”. Microsoft contributed to the development of this strategy and is a member of the WA government’s Digital Inclusion Leadership Forum.