Fonterra first major customer to join data centres

Fonterra Cooperative Group has signed up to the new data centres Microsoft is establishing in New Zealand.

The dairy giant is the first customer of the new centres being built in Auckland by Canberra Data Centres.

The five-year deal is part of a broader partnership which will see Fonterra shift many of its mission-critical functions onto Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

Piers Shore, Fonterra’s chief information officer, said the new arrangements build on the other strategic partnerships the company has with other providers, including EY and SAP, which help it drive productivity and efficiency across the business. Combined, they will “fundamentally reshape” how Fonterra delivers information technology services, he said.

“The cost savings and investment in Fonterra from our strategic partners are a major benefit to Fonterra, but the deep relationships between our organisations are the real win here.”

Canberra Data Centres — half owned by Infratil — is a provider to Microsoft and plans to have two data centres operating in Auckland by the end of 2022.