Australia's first Indigenous Sovereign Cloud, a tech innovation to uplift scalability, efficiency and security across both public and private sectors, is being launched. The collaborative effort of DQA, Indigenous IT leader Dickerson Digital, and Microsoft is set to extend services to remote and regional locations and provide a pathway for local First Nations people to establish themselves in the advanced technology industry.
Steve Melville, CEO of DQA, lauded Dickerson Digital’s impressive track record, stating that it's the perfect ally for "developing this critical infrastructure that will truly make meaningful change in Australia’s cloud capabilities and inject this benefit into remote communities."
The Sovereign Cloud represents not only the first of its kind in Australia, but the first truly scalable sovereign cloud offering. Bolstered by Microsoft Azure and integrated with Azure Orbital, the ventures aim to offer a solution that faces the challenges of data management with heightened security and availability protocols. This endeavour aligns with Microsoft and the Federal Government's recent $5 billion investment in Australia’s cloud computing industries.
"Working alongside Dickerson Digital gives us an amazing opportunity to address Australia’s need for a true sovereign, hyperscale data centre," said Melville. The Sovereign Cloud could be a significant game-changer, especially for remote communities, where data sovereignty and secure operations are paramount.
The collaborative effort plans to build 22 data centres across Australia, along with two in New Zealand and two in Tonga. In doing so, digitial sovereignty will extend from major metro areas out to these remote communities, upscaling these organisation's abilities to leverage cloud services and maximise agility and capabilities.
One notable collaboration has been with Indigenous partner Gambarra Jaha, who's on track to secure the largest single capital raising by an Indigenous-owned organisation in Australian history to build and operate the Sovereign Cloud data centres.
The forthcoming project leverages the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation, fostering ongoing career avenues with Microsoft and DQA. This synergy is designed to enable pathways for local First Nations people to gain a foothold in the advanced technology industry and collaborate on issues surrounding location and the land's sensitivity.
The Sovereign Cloud Solution rollout is happening now and will soon extend its services across Queensland and Australia more broadly. This initiative empowers organisations to confidently adopt cloud technology with a solution rooted in respecting data sovereignty, enhancing security, and facilitating sustainable growth.
Potential customers interested in how the Sovereign Cloud Solution aligns with their security and digital transformation goals are advised to contact Dickerson Digital directly.