Microsoft today announced a significant extension of its global datacentre footprint to Western Australia (WA) to help meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services across the state and support economic growth. The expansion will see Microsoft deploy an Azure Extended Zone to Perth by mid-2025.

By bringing cloud services closer to users in WA, Microsoft aims to reduce latency and improve service delivery for public and private sector customers. The initiative also aligns with Microsoft’s efforts to enhance cloud connectivity across Australia to ensure resilient and sustainable operations.

“The addition of these new capabilities in Western Australia builds on Microsoft’s strong history of delivering state-of-the-art technologies to the public and private sectors,” said Steven Worrall, Managing Director at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand.

“This cutting-edge infrastructure will play a crucial role in enhancing the accessibility, efficiency and reliability of essential services for Western Australians. It will also empower businesses in WA to innovate and grow, driving significant transformation across industries.”

The WA Government will be one of the first organisations to leverage the new infrastructure, with a focus on healthcare, education and core government operations.

Launched by the WA Government in August 2024, the Digital Industries Acceleration Strategy aims to ensure businesses and industries thrive by being digitally secure, enabled and empowered. It complements the government’s Digital Strategy for the Western Australian Government 2021-2025 and the Digital Inclusion in WA Blueprint.

Microsoft contributed to the development of the Digital Industries Acceleration Strategy and is a member of the WA Government’s Digital Inclusion Leadership Forum.

The new infrastructure further extends the longstanding partnership between Microsoft and the WA Government, which includes existing agreements on cloud and cybersecurity technologies. It also aligns with the WA Government’s goal of attracting more cloud infrastructure investments in the state, as highlighted in its data centre prospectus.

Two businesses that expect to quickly benefit from the current expansion of Microsoft’s infrastructure are the resources leaders Roy Hill and Northern Star Resources.

Roy Hill is a world-class, integrated iron ore mining, rail and port operator based in Perth. The Azure expansion will enable the company to host more critical workloads locally and better meet its goals of using technology to enhance productivity, operations and ensure it can continue to make a positive, long-term impact in WA and Australia.

Northern Star Resources is Australia’s largest gold producer. The company’s Information Technology Manager, Stephen Johnston, said, “We are excited by the opportunities presented with Microsoft extending its Azure cloud capacity to Western Australia. This will enable us to host critical workloads providing high-performance, secure, scalable and reliable services local to our head office in Perth and mine sites in Western Australia.

“Azure increases the agility of our IT team and allows us to focus on supporting business applications and cyber security, and it helps to eliminate many of the headaches of managing on-premises server infrastructure.”

Other public and private sector organisations in WA have leveraged Microsoft’s cloud services to transform their operations and drive innovation in recent years include The University of Western Australia, Western Australia Return Recycle Renew Limited, Western Power and Woodside Energy.