Microsoft joins with Canberra Data Centres to give governmental and other companies access to cloud
Rebecca Gibson |
Microsoft has partnered with Canberra Data Centres to bring Microsoft Azure to two new regions in Australia and give organisations in Australia and New Zealand’s government, financial services, utilities and other critical national infrastructure sectors access to its secure cloud platform.
The new Microsoft Azure Australia Central platform can be used by Australian and New Zealand organisations (and their trusted partners) who want to manage mission-critical workloads and store or process unclassified and/or protected-level data. Organisations will be able to deploy their own applications and infrastructure within Canberra Data Centres, which will be directly connected to Microsoft’s global network via Azure ExpressRoute. Australian federal government customers can leverage their Intra Government Communications Network for direct connectivity.
“Microsoft offers Microsoft Azure from three cities in Australia including Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra with connectivity to Perth, Brisbane and Auckland,” said Tom Keane, head of Global Infrastructure for Microsoft Azure at Microsoft, in a blog post. “Other global providers are limited to only one Australian location, so Microsoft provides the leading flexibility for both high availability and resiliency. We understand it is essential for critical national infrastructure to have disaster resilience options that can distribute data to multiple regions without compromising on retaining data residency within Australian borders.”
Microsoft Azure Australia Central is the latest in a series of developments to grow the platform’s reach across the globe. In early March, Microsoft introduced new Microsoft Azure regions in France, and unveiled plans to deliver cloud services from new regions in Switzerland, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. It also revealed that it would launch two new Microsoft Azure Government regions for classified secret data in the US .
“Around the world government and critical national infrastructure providers are transforming operations and the services they deliver to citizens and customers,” said Keane. “They are rapidly modernising their business and mission-critical applications through the flexibility, scale and reach of Microsoft Azure, partnering with our unmatched partner ecosystem, and placing their trust in us to create a resilient and responsive platform for growth.”