Macquarie Telecom has become the second partner of cloud computing and virtualisation technology company VMware to join its Sovereign Cloud initiative.
MacTel joins Canberra-based ASX-listed infrastructure-as-a-service provider AUCloud, which was the first company to join the program. The program helps customers identify and engage with certified national or regional cloud service providers to meet sovereign cloud requirements.
Macquarie Telecom said joining the initiative would help it enter partnerships with customers in highly regulated industries, such as banking and finance, healthcare, energy, government services, public sector, and telecommunications.
Macquarie Telecom managing director Aidan Tudehope said “in the lead up to the election the Albanese Government announced its commitment to building sovereign, domestic IT capability to cultivate local industry and keep our data safe.”
“Increasing geo-political friction has elevated this conversation, with Government and regulated industries casting a closer eye over their cloud strategies and who has access to their data.”
Tudehope said that the company’s designation as a VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider followed its own rigorous assessment of its data centres and cloud services in accordance with the VMware Sovereign Cloud framework.
Tudehope said these assessments included protecting critical data for both private and public sector organisations with audited security controls, ensuring compliance with data privacy laws, improving control of data by providing both data residency and data sovereignty and delivering national capability for the digital economy.
“Becoming a VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider is further validation of Macquarie’s long-term position on the importance of sovereign capability at a time when national resilience is more important than ever in Australia.”
VMware ANZ senior director of cloud said Mike Reddie “We’re very pleased Macquarie Telecom has joined the VMware Sovereign Cloud initiative.”
“The added value of data sovereignty, jurisdictional control, and data security and compliance means that Macquarie Telecom customers are preparing for changing regulations, increased security threats and geopolitical uncertainty – all of which are growing challenges.”
Earlier this year Macquarie Telecom secured a multi-year deal to deploy VMware’s mobile, cloud and SD-WAN services to public transportation services company Kelsian Group.
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