An AIIA position paper entitled Future State – How ICT & digital technology can improve our WA economy, recently released at a lunch in Perth to an audience of 220 industry leaders, has given the State Government a number of recommendations to accelerate its digital transformation.

The event, sponsored by Metronode as a platinum partner, was held as Australia’s Best Data Centre Operator* revealed its plans to further expand its WA footprint with the acquisition of additional land on the existing Shenton Park site.

Metronode also expects to the first provider in the State to be awarded a 4.5 star NABERS data centre rating# in September for its existing Perth facilities after a 12-month intensive assessment.

Throughout the position paper, the AIIA referenced the market-leading digital transformation of the NSW Government, stating that it had, in 2008, been forced to “make many difficult decisions and enact painful structural reforms”.

Now, nine years later, the NSW Government is acknowledged as the leader in public sector ICT delivery across the country.

Since 2012, Metronode has been trusted by the NSW Government to build and operate facilities at Silverwater in Sydney and Unanderra in Wollongong, helping it consolidate 130 data centres into two.

The AIIA position paper recognised key opportunities for the WA Government and identified significant outcomes that would arise from ICT reforms:

1. Improve public sector ICT delivery with better financial outcomes and cost savings
2. Support growth and productivity in the wider community and economy
3. Improve services with better citizen centric services and outcomes
4. Support policy decisions through improved data sharing, analytics and insights

The NSW Government GovDC digital transformation strategy has ticked all these boxes in partnership with Metronode data centres and a multi-million dollar construction program is now underway in both Silverwater and Unanderra to accommodate additional demand.

According to Derek Paterson, NSW Government Director of Government Digital Communities and Marketplace Services: “The two built-for-purpose data centres in Silverwater and Unanderra deliver the highest standards in security, availability and efficiency to the public sector.

“Energy-efficiency is a key feature of our data centres, with the Unanderra and Silverwater facilities awarded an impressive NABERS 4.5 data centre rating#. The GovDC program has been hugely successful and Metronode’s expansion is timely as the demand for data centres grows.”

 

* Metronode was named as the Best Data Centre Operator at the 2017 CommsDay Edison Awards, click here for more information.

# NABERS is an Australian rating system measuring the environmental performance of buildings. Managed nationally by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage on behalf of Federal, state and territory governments, NABERS recently introduced a one-year assessment process for data centres. Click here for more information.