Microsoft to establish its first datacenter region in New Zealand

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182 posts

Master Geek

#2531209 30-Jul-2020 09:05

freitasm: From today's press release:

"Microsoft New Zealand today announced the signing of a new strategic partnership with Fonterra that will see the dairy co-operative migrate many mission-critical operations to Microsoft Azure to support its global growth plans. Once Microsoft’s New Zealand datacenter region is launched, Fonterra will also benefit from real-time business intelligence and exponentially greater capacity to innovate with cutting-edge technologies."

The joys of Microsoft and Fonterra looking into each other's windows in Wynyard 🤣

The hydrogen bit is interesting as it's a move away from the diesel backup generators from memory.

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freitasm

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#2565816 16-Sep-2020 12:20

"Microsoft Datacenter Region Granted Consent From the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office"

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Jogre

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#2571420 21-Sep-2020 16:33

It's starting to get very exciting.

freitasm

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#2586530 17-Oct-2020 11:58

Current job opening: "Datacenter Construction Delivery Project Manager (Construction)" (page may disappear sometime in the future).

The role of the DCD Project Manager requires strong interpersonal, communication and organizational skills, ability to self-direct, strong background in data center development, design, engineering, controls, and operational requirements and an emphasis on project / construction management, datacenter lease market experience, client representation and project and project level services. He or she must manage multiple projects in parallel and across countries. This role is posted in New Zealand based assignment base across ANZ region.

In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.

Responsibilities

The DCD Project Manager is ultimately responsible for the delivery of core & shell and tenant improvements for each project – permitting and entitlement coordination with local agencies and timely close-out (punch-list, receipt of certificate of substantial completion and official sign-off from the Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) partner team). Technical decisions and issues, throughout the lifespan, will be directed to the Datacenter Engineering (DCE) and Datacenter Operations (DCOPs) teams for discussion and resolution. As such, the DCD Project Manager will be responsible for ensuring that each project meets the Data Center Development (DCD) Guidelines and standards which may be adjusted from time-to-time based on best practices and Lesson Learned drawn from previous projects. The DCD Project Manager will coordinate with the DCE team and supporting specialty PM’s to update and edit the guidelines managing the delivery of projects, this position aligns team objectives, business processes, vendor management strategies, and group collaboration efforts with the Datacenter Strategy, Planning and Delivery (DSPD) program strategy to ensure effective client relationship management, efficient and cost effective project delivery. The DCD Project Manager will also partner with MCIO Security, MSIT, Legal, DCE, MS Business Operations, Project Controls, Risk Management, and others.

In addition, the DCD Project Manager is responsible for management of the commissioning and integration activities including coordinating with various MS employee resources, vendors and contractors. Coordinating and reviewing vendor performance relative to cash flow and summaries (with Project Controls support) and will clarify those reports in presentations to the Datacenter Execution leadership team. Other responsibilities include oversight and project controls (PERs, PSRs, Change Orders, Pay Applications, etc.) Additional roles include client engagement participation in communications plans, and community involvement with support from DCOPs, Real Estate Services, Datacenter Service and Corporate Communications teams.

The DCD Project Manager works directly for the Datacenter Construction Delivery Regional Director and supports the strategic and tactical delivery of datacenter projects.

Qualifications

10+ years of progressive responsibility in development of complex capital projects
Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Construction Project Management, or Construction Management
Prior experience in datacenter construction
Experience managing multiple large multi-faceted projects
Ability to lead a team and report out to Microsoft Senior Management
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Ability to influence cross-discipline teams
Construction health & safety knowledge

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Jogre

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#2590276 22-Oct-2020 15:45

Jogre:

I'm surprised how many inside sources at Microsoft there are with intimate knowledge of what is planned (plot twist, there's not a lot planned or confirmed...).

I doubt any existing datacenters or DC-providers are up to standard. CDC opening an NZ subsidiary is rather interesting as from an MS perspective, they've already ticked all the compliance/supplier boxes with Microsoft to be certified to build something that Microsoft can lease (Canberra Azure) so they're the one to watch for building a new DC. I'm expecting something built near Whenuapai.

Huge news regardless and will disrupt the local hosters immensely, I see Catalyst is already well into their disinformation campaign around legislation that Microsoft is bound by etc.

Not to beat my own drum but I was pretty close!

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/300m-data-centres-for-hobsonville-silverdale/UFT5ON7Q63QLTOCPBDTQY4DD2Y/

noroad

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#2590301 22-Oct-2020 16:11

Not to beat my own drum but I was pretty close!

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/300m-data-centres-for-hobsonville-silverdale/UFT5ON7Q63QLTOCPBDTQY4DD2Y/

Any non paywall versions of that?

Jogre

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Master Geek

#2590305 22-Oct-2020 16:15

noroad:

Any non paywall versions of that?

Got linked to that article through a related one so didn't notice it was premium.

Main details;

Hobsonville and Silverdale. No comment from Microsoft or Infratil. Due to go-live in 2022.

"Ground has been broken on the Hobsonville and Silverdale data centres, which are both fully consented, according to the investor presentation.

Hobsonville will be a 7000sq m facility, Silverdale around 11,000sq m."

"Infratil says both Hobsonville and Silverdale will be "20 megawatts-plus" between them - and that they are part of a plan to more than triple CDC's capacity from the 133mw it has today across two server farms in Canberra and one in Sydney."

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#2798715 21-Oct-2021 11:58

Another tenant:

Microsoft New Zealand has welcomed the signing of a three-year cloud services agreement that will see the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) do more with data to help prevent re-injuries and address inequities of care around New Zealand.

Under this agreement, which will focus on Microsoft Azure cloud services, ACC will migrate its New Zealand operations to Azure. It’s the first government agency to sign this kind of commitment since the All of Government Agreement was inked between Microsoft and the Department of Internal Affairs earlier this year.

“We’ve had a long relationship with Microsoft, which stood us in very good stead during the huge disruption we and all organisations faced in 2020. We’ve been investing in Microsoft 365 over the past couple of years, rolling out Teams and Sharepoint and refreshing our remote access solutions, and within the first week of lockdown we scaled this to our entire team of 3,800 people. Not only did we not miss a beat in terms of the services we provided New Zealanders, we saw a real bump in employee engagement,” said Peter Fletcher, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer at ACC.

“This new agreement reaffirms and builds on that partnership to enable more linked-up use of data, so we can provide better pathways through care and deliver more equitable health outcomes for all regions and ethnicities in Aotearoa.”

An example of the potential benefits of ACC’s cloud strategy will be using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop targeted programmes that prevent re-injury. One of the greatest challenges ACC has identified is the frequency of patient re-injury while they’re on the road to recovery. Through the Microsoft Azure platform, ACC will have access to massive data analytics capability that will reveal patterns in the likelihood of injuries recurring and help identify why this happens. Individualised programmes can then be developed to help patients stay well, depending on their injury and lifestyle.

“We’re hugely excited to be renewing our relationship with ACC and taking it to the next level with this cloud agreement. Nothing is more important than our health and wellbeing, as the past 18 months have shown us, and I want to congratulate ACC on leading the way in cloud and AI to help all New Zealanders stay safe and healthy. With greater insights, we’re not only helping prevent injury and creating more joined-up pathways through our health system, but saving our healthcare providers time that can be spent seeing more patients,” says Vanessa Sorenson, Managing Director of Microsoft New Zealand.

ACC is also looking forward to the arrival of Microsoft’s forthcoming hyperscale datacenter region, which will enable sensitive patient data to be stored within New Zealand’s borders. As New Zealand’s population grows, the virtually unlimited capacity of public cloud will also enable ACC’s data storage and processing capabilities to scale up along with it, without needing to invest in new infrastructure.

“Thanks to this agreement, we’ll have the flexibility to manage data in a way that meets the needs of our organisation as well as our regulatory requirements, and which provides even greater security for personal information at less cost. It’s a win-win-win for our teams, our partners and for all New Zealanders,” Fletcher said.

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PolicyGuy

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#2798728 21-Oct-2021 12:10

Microsoft New Zealand has welcomed the signing of a three-year cloud services agreement that will see the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) do more with data to help prevent re-injuries and address inequities of care around New Zealand.

Under this agreement, which will focus on Microsoft Azure cloud services, ACC will migrate its New Zealand operations to Azure.

Where are ACC currently hosted?
Are they on-premises / self-hosted or with another commercial provider - Datacom, Revera, someone else?

noroad

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#2798729 21-Oct-2021 12:12

PolicyGuy:

Where are ACC currently hosted?
Are they on-premises / self-hosted or with another commercial provider - Datacom, Revera, someone else?

Anyone who knows (yes I do know) that information will not be at liberty to divulge it for obvious reasons.

PolicyGuy

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#2798775 21-Oct-2021 13:36

noroad:

PolicyGuy:

Where are ACC currently hosted?
Are they on-premises / self-hosted or with another commercial provider - Datacom, Revera, someone else?

Anyone who knows (yes I do know) that information will not be at liberty to divulge it for obvious reasons.

The price that ACC are paying might be commercially sensitive, but to claim that the service provider (or lack thereof) is somehow a classified matter is preposterous. After all, everybody knows who the new provider is and from that where the data centre/s is/are.
I'm not asking for "they're in Pod D of Huge&RuthlessCorp's Data Centre at ..." nor "They self host on the 13th floor of their building in ...", I'm just curious as to whether this is a business transfer - and a win for MS - or if ACC are now about to outsource their Data Center operations.

BTW, if ACC's IT PHYSEC model depends on threat actors not knowing where their data centre assets are housed, then they're in a world of hurt.

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#2798784 21-Oct-2021 13:52

Isn't ACCs current provider Azure and Revera run by NTT

PolicyGuy

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#2798845 21-Oct-2021 16:14

MikeB4:

Isn't ACC's current provider Azure and Revera run by NTT

They may be using Azure, but I doubt if MS would be trumpeting ACC moving from being hosted overseas on Azure to being locally hosted on Azure.

Revera is a Spark subsidiary / brand and makes sense as a displaced outsource party

I'm not sure what Nippon Telegraph & Telephone has to do with it, do you have a different NTT in mind?

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#2798847 21-Oct-2021 16:25

PolicyGuy:

MikeB4:

Isn't ACC's current provider Azure and Revera run by NTT

They may be using Azure, but I doubt if MS would be trumpeting ACC moving from being hosted overseas on Azure to being locally hosted on Azure.

Revera is a Spark subsidiary / brand and makes sense as a displaced outsource party

I'm not sure what Nippon Telegraph & Telephone has to do with it, do you have a different NTT in mind?

Look up NTT NZ, headed by Simon Gillespie.

wellygary

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#2798848 21-Oct-2021 16:27

PolicyGuy:

I'm not sure what Nippon Telegraph & Telephone has to do with it, do you have a different NTT in mind?

NTT bought up and rebranded Dimension Data in 2019

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