Google New Zealand is ramping up investment in Aotearoa with the opening of its first purpose-built office in Auckland and the establishment of the first local Engineering team, with local hires in the works.
Google New Zealand Country Director, Caroline Rainsford said “Google is invested in New Zealand’s digital future. As we approach 15 years on the ground here our new home will foster the creativity and collaboration that inspires the team to use innovation and technology to solve problems for Kiwi businesses, schools, teachers, communities and more. As New Zealand moves through the next phase of economic recovery we’ll continue to find ways to bring the best of Google to Aotearoa.”
The new office is a uniquely Google space - with an experiential ceiling, kayaks for a reception desk, a cafe that takes its likeness from a chilly bin and an event space where the Google team plan to host business leaders, technologists and the wider community over the coming years. With room for a growing team, the office is designed to suit Google’s new hybrid approach to work. In an effort to attract and hire local software engineering talent, Google will shortly be recruiting roles for the Engineering team that will be established here at the Auckland site. This team will contribute to some of the research and development work being done by Google, and will look to engage local institutions to help raise the importance of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Aotearoa’s tech landscape.
Caroline Rainsford, Country Director Google New Zealand continued, “Google is passionate about New Zealand’s thriving tech ecosystem, and our new Engineering presence demonstrates that we’re committed and contributing to this. We hope to strengthen our local partnerships to improve New Zealand’s native AI capability and in turn advance the technology landscape and build a better future for all Kiwis.”
In addition, Google is investing in expanded Cloud infrastructure in response to local customer demand. This includes a new Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect location in Auckland that connects New Zealand to Google’s private secure network and ensures customer data never traverses the public internet; as well as a second AUNZ Google Cloud region in Melbourne.
Collectively, these investments will deliver geographically distributed and secure infrastructure to customers across New Zealand, enabling them to take advantage of the cleanest cloud in the industry. Two geographically separated cloud regions with three zones each also make Google Cloud the first hyperscaler to provide this capability in the AUNZ region today.
Urs Hölzle, SVP Cloud Infrastructure said, “We’re investing in our Cloud infrastructure to serve the needs of our growing base of customers in Aotearoa NZ and Australia. Our Dedicated Cloud Interconnect in Auckland will hardwire New Zealand into our global infrastructure backbone, and Kiwi organisations of all sizes will benefit from the speed, scalability and security of our expanded Cloud region footprint in AUNZ as they continue to drive their digital transformation agenda.”
Google New Zealand employs around 50 people now based in Auckland and Wellington. The team works to help Kiwis find new ways to collaborate, reach audiences and get things done. Google is committed to helping all Kiwis with the digital knowledge and capabilities they need now and in the future.
