Digital infrastructure forms a major part of our increasingly digital world. Due to its importance as a connective fabric, bringing together the different tools necessary to run businesses, it is increasingly under threat from bad actors, both foreign and domestic.
With innovations in the realms of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI & ML), emerging threats from state actors, and a need to service increasing demand on existing architecture, technology multinational Microsoft has announced a $5 billion investment, designed to boost the AI capacity and capability in Australia. This multi-billion dollar is the most significant of its kind and the largest that Microsoft has made in the Asia-Pacific in its multi-decade history in the region.
This investment looks set to assist in the transition to an AI-intense economy. A significant element of this investment relates to training, to support workers moving into tech-related jobs. Microsoft is working in conjunction with local education authorities to establish the Microsoft Datacentre Academy, providing global skills programs to the domestic market, providing students completing qualifications such as an online MBA with a high-quality program to help develop the capabilities that they’ll need to succeed in an increasingly automated world.
Speaking about the multi-billion dollar investment into Australia’s distributed computing architecture, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted the importance of improved digital skills training, and how it aligns with Government initiatives
Discussing the release, he noted that “A priority for my Government is to ensure all Australians benefit from economic growth. This means that we need to provide the skills to enable Australians to succeed in the jobs of the future.”
Additionally, Microsoft has also announced investments that look to strengthen Australia’s capacity to provide digital services, including an infrastructure investment that will enable the company to meet Australia’s surging demand for additional computing services. Nine new data centres, located in Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney, look set to increase Microsoft’s local footprint by forty-five percent, to a total of 29 sites located across the three cities.
Microsoft’s investment looks set to provide extra capacity to one of Australia’s largest cloud services providers, Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, allowing local businesses to take advantage of domestic computing resources. For companies that may have restricted operations due to data sovereignty requirements, this may enable broader implementation of cloud computing in small and medium enterprises.
Investment in digital infrastructure such as Azure will allow for the increased utilisation of technology, specifically designed for applications in large-scale cloud computing and AI applications. Large-scale cloud computing, specifically a hyperscale cloud, allows for the integration of a large network of data centres that can support users of enterprise applications.
Additional investments have also been announced, looking to provide additional bulwarks to the nation’s cyber defence platforms. It’s widely recognised that in recent years, the risk of cyber breaches has increased – including the recent cyberattack on major port operator DP World. Cyber threat information must be shared freely, to allow for government, associated agencies, and corporate entities to work together to better prevent and respond to cyber threats.
Investments are also being made into joint operations between Microsoft and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), known as the Microsoft-ASD Cyber Shield (MACS) program. As part of this solution, next-generation cybersecurity solutions will be developed, looking to provide additional defences against the risks of cyber threats.
While the government recognises that the risks of malicious cyber activity will increase in the short term, it is hoped that this approach will help to transform the way that individuals, organisations, and governments work together to tackle cyber threats in the years to come. Speaking at a press conference in Washington D.C., Steven Worrall, Managing Director of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, noted the large volume of existing data signals that the company currently has access to.
Speaking to the media in October, he noted that “… we (Microsoft) estimate that every day there are 65 trillion signals that we manage across our network. As you can also imagine, that gives us a deep understanding of the nature of cyber security threats that we see emerging in Australia and around the world.”
Recent research by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia highlighted the opportunities for this investment to sharply improve Australia’s digital competitiveness. The World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, last released in 2022, found that while Australia ranked 14th among 63 companies, it ranked much lower in cyber security (31st) and science graduates (52nd).
While Australia has become sharply more competitive in recent years, investments in enhancing training and infrastructure can only improve the ability of Australia to compete with other nations in the digital landscape.
This multi-billion dollar investment looks set to have a significant impact on the cloud computing environment in Australia in a relatively short time. The three components of the announcement focussed on training people in AI, improving cloud computing infrastructure, and collaborating with the government, which will develop Australia’s status as a digital nation.
Also Read: Local Markets, Big Wins: How an SEO Consultant Can Elevate Your Business Strategy
