DEEP DIVE as well as a balanced approach to hiring talent in a way that ensures diversity . Leaders also need to be cognisant of the environmental impacts of data centres , including where they reside and the technology choices that are made .
How do you deal with stress and unwind outside the office ?
Spending time with family and friends , with plenty of good food and wine . I also enjoy playing football and watching sport .
What do you currently identify as the major areas of investment in your industry ?
Customers around the globe are looking for safe , secure and local homes for their data – data that has exploded exponentially in recent years . Our reliance on the online economy , including virtual shopping , health-based applications , supply chain management and innovations such as driverless cars are all contributing to an astonishing amount of information that needs to be stored , analysed and transacted upon . This has increased investment in data storage as well as security , both physical and logical , to keep this information safe . Recently , the Australian Federal Government indicated its commitment to security by announcing plans to move its data into certified strategic data centres within
EFFICIENCY OF DATA CENTRES WILL ALWAYS BE AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION , BUT IT HAS WIDENED TO BECOME A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH .
Australia that provide the highest level of security assurance . Macquarie Data Centres is currently one of only three providers in the country to achieve this designation .
What are the region-specific challenges you encounter in your role ?
On the whole , Australia is an ideal location for data centres . We have a strong economy , a well-placed legal system and there is ample space for geodiversity and expansive facility design .
We are , however , an island and the tyranny of distance combined with COVID has led to a shortage of talented workers to fill technical roles . Leaders need to plan ahead and grow their teams to navigate these challenges and meet the expansive service expectations customers have in 2021 . Fortunately , at Macquarie , we have invested heavily in our graduate programme to build talent from the ground up and do not rely solely on sourcing talent externally to meet current demands .
What changes to your job role have you seen in the last year and how do you see these developing in the coming months ?
The past year has seen exponential growth in the data centre industry with significantly more growth to come . It has been a pleasure to work with my team to build and open two data centres during this time , and to announce plans to open another , Intellicentre 3 ( IC3 ) Super West in Sydney ’ s North Zone , which will be our largest investment yet adding 32 MW to bring the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus to 50 MW over time . In 2020 , we also celebrated a circa 10 MW hyperscale win , a monumental occasion for the Macquarie Data Centres team .
My team has also played a crucial part in Australia ’ s defence against cyberattacks , and this June I had the privilege of meeting with Australia ’ s Minister for Defence , Peter Dutton , to open our latest Canberra data centre , the IC5 South Bunker , which is certified strategic and able to house the highest levels of classified government data . ◊ www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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