Fonterra signs up to data centre

WELLINGTON: 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 fiveyear deal is part of a broader partnership, under which Fonterra will shift many of its missioncritical functions on to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

Fonterra chief information officer Piers Shore said the new arrangements built on the other strategic partnerships the company had with other providers, including EY and SAP, which helped it drive productivity and efficiency across the business. Combined, they would ‘‘fundamentally reshape’’ how Fonterra delivered 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,’’ Mr Shore said.

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.

Microsoft said transferring data from Fonterra’s onsite data centres to the virtually unlimited Azure platform would vastly increase the amount of data the dairy processor could gather and analyse in real time, using everything from sensors on farm milk vats to smart machines in its factories.

Fonterra is already trialling machine learning to detect improperly sealed or faulty bags of powdered milk in its factories, so all products arrive at stores in perfect condition without wastage.

Chief operating officer Fraser Whineray said Fonterra’s strong sustainability focus was an important part of the move to Microsoft’s cloud platform.

‘‘Microsoft’s pledge to use only renewable energy in its data centres aligns with our own longterm goals and provided another benefit to the partnership,’’ he said.

Microsoft NZ managing director Vanessa Sorenson said the faster pace of innovation, greater sustainability and cost savings enabled by cloud technologies were a fraction of the ‘‘significant benefits’’ the country’s agrifood sector could gain from digital investment. — BusinessDesk