Microsoft expands Azure to two new Australian regions

Microsoft announced today that it is expanding its Azure cloud computing service to two new regions in Australia, to be available in the first half of 2018. With these latest additions, Microsoft Azure will soon have 42 regions worldwide, which is more than any other cloud provider.

The two new Azure regions will be located within data centres in Canberra, and Microsoft says that it will be the only major cloud provider in the country to be able to handle unclassified and protected government data. This a result of a partnership with Canberra Data Centres (CDC), a local specialist datacenter provider for secure government data.

“This announcement builds on recent news that dozens of Microsoft Azure services have received certification by Australian Signals Directorate, including services for machine learning, internet-of-things, cybersecurity, and data management,” explained Tom Keane, Azure’s Head of Global Infrastructure. “Along with Australian certifications for Office 365 and Dynamics 365, Microsoft is recognized as the most complete and trusted cloud platform in Australia,” he added.