1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,280 Speaker 1: It's launch day for Microsoft. They've got that big hyperscale 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: data center. The thing costs more than three hundred million 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: dollars to build. It's out in west Auckland, and Microsoft 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: reckons it's going to help upscale more than one hundred 5 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:12,360 Speaker 1: thousand workers here in New Zealand. 6 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 2: Now. 7 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: Vanessa Sorenson is the managing director of Microsoft in the country. 8 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: Have Vanessa, hello, how are you well? Thank you? What's 9 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: the benefit of having this thing actually in New Zealand 10 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: because the Internet is sort of borderless, right, so does 11 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: it make the cloud faster for us or something like that? 12 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 2: One hundred percent no latency. It's basically going to supercharge 13 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 2: the country's digital transformation and it's going to help accelerate 14 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,000 Speaker 2: that enhance data residency, security and compliance. 15 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 1: And so how long have we got before we max 16 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: it out and we need another one? 17 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: No one needs to worry about that. We've certainly built 18 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 2: a robust with you know, ten to twenty years in 19 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 2: mind and saying that New Zealand is an incredible country 20 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 2: to invest in. And so we have bought more Land 21 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 2: to expand. 22 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: Now, oh, you have bidmore Land to expand? 23 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 2: What like, yeah, adjacent, it's never adjacent but certainly within 24 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 2: the region. And yeah, we're just because of the incredible 25 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 2: contract with Contact Energy and the sustainability angle. Using geo 26 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 2: thermal is just another incredible opportunity as more and more 27 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 2: businesses want to move from unsustainable infrastructure into incredible, reliable, 28 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 2: sustainable infrastructure. So yeah, it's amazing. 29 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 1: I was going to ask you about the power because 30 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: these things are really power hungry a and we are, 31 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: i mean incredibly short of power weirdly in New Zealand 32 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: at the moment. So have you got yourselves a good 33 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: deal locked in? 34 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: We certainly have. So we've just we've signed a ten 35 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: year contract which is basically with us doing that, it's 36 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,639 Speaker 2: enabled Contact Energy to invest by expanding a tear hooker 37 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: a three power station so they can generate fifty one 38 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: point four megawatts of reliable and renewable energy throughout the year. 39 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 2: So what I'm what's incredible about this, it's you know, 40 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 2: it has been our mission to replenish more water and 41 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 2: than it consumes, and our data center will be the 42 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 2: first it or be one hundred percent water free as well. 43 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: So you know, not only is it going to be 44 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 2: the most sustainable where we're putting energy back on the grid. 45 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,359 Speaker 2: But it's highly, highly sustainable, So incredibly proud of this. 46 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: Why did you choose to base yourselves in west Auckland 47 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: Because I can't imagine that that is cheap land. 48 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 2: Look, it's all about ensuring that it's not in a floodplaine, 49 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 2: that it's not. You know, we're a very movable country 50 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 2: in terms of earthquakes and the like. So certainly before 51 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 2: I was able to announce this incredible investment four years ago, 52 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: we had a team scouting New Zealand for a good 53 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 2: eighteen months to work out the best location access. You know, 54 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 2: we look at everything about even making sure you can 55 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 2: get to it if something happened to motorways and things 56 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: like that. So there's a real art and science to 57 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 2: where we decide to purchase land. 58 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: Oh I see, okay, all right, now, explain to me 59 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: how this is going to benefit hundred thousand workers. How 60 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: does that work? 61 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 2: Well, I mean, look at the acceleration, right, we're certainly ai. 62 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 2: I mean that wasn't even in the picture when we 63 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 2: launched that we were coming. But it's just we've seen 64 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 2: this in every single country that we launch, and I 65 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 2: think this is what our opportunity is for New Zealand 66 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 2: using it to upskill and so we're investing a lot 67 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: of money in training and enablement. I'm very proud of 68 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 2: our ten k Women initiative, which was over a couple 69 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 2: of years. We wanted to basically have ten thousand women 70 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:37,600 Speaker 2: be accredited, consider a role in tech, earn more money 71 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: and that's been incredible. So now we're going to extend 72 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 2: that to one hundred thousand learners by twenty twenty seven. 73 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 2: We're just going to be free certification training. You can 74 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 2: go up to certain levels and we feel that then 75 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 2: there's more high power paying jobs basically for people. So 76 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 2: it's really what we have seen and an IDC report 77 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 2: basically stay that. You know, this cloud adoption is going 78 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 2: to be twenty three point nine billion in revenue for 79 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 2: New Zealand, which is about six percent of GDP, and 80 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 2: they said it will create about one hundred and thirty 81 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 2: four thousand new jobs across cloud adopting organizations and service providers. 82 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: Brilliant stuff, Heyvnissa, thanks for running us through it sounds incredible. 83 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: Vanessa Sorenson, Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director 84 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 2: For more from the mic Asking Breakfast listen live to 85 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 86 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio