Celebrating 40 years of impact in Australia

This month, Microsoft is celebrating 40 years of making an impact in Australia.?

Microsoft officially began operations in Australia on 11 April 1983. We started with just a handful of employees and now have over 3,000 – and we also work with more than 9,000 partners.

It amazes me to see how far we’ve come – from the Australian launches of Microsoft Word in 1985, and Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 1.0 in 1995, to establishing our first data centre in 2014 and opening our store on Pitt Street, Sydney in 2015.

Over the last decade we have supported our customers in the shift to the cloud. Through partnerships with major organisations like Telstra , the Bank of Queensland and the NSW Government , we’re helping to accelerate the transition to public cloud infrastructure. We’re acting as trusted advisors to industries and government, as they rewrite the rule book on operational efficiency and pathways to growth.

This transition to the cloud was instrumental in also helping Australians navigate the pandemic. As we all adjusted to new ways of living and working, hybrid and remote work allowed many of us to stay productive and connected through a challenging time.

The pandemic also saw Microsoft step up to support our healthcare sector and we played a vital role in Victoria’s vaccine rollout by creating an end-to-end vaccine management solution for the Victorian Government.

As our nation more fully embraces the digital era, we are passionate advocates of education and skills development for all Australians. That’s why we’re proud to be a founding industry partner of the new Institute of Applied Technology – Digital is recently welcomed its first students, who will be trained in big data, cybersecurity, AI, software development and cloud computing.

Our work with Generation Australia , the Tech Start program and the Queensland Government’s First Nations Digital Careers Program are just a few more examples of how we are engaging with local communities to improve skills and build a more inclusive digital future for all Australians.

Our work across industries like healthcare, education, science and defence is ultimately supporting the nation’s acceleration into the digital era. It is also creating jobs for Australians, with more than 200,000 people employed in our partner network alone.

Our investments in data centres are set to supercharge the nation’s digital growth. New data centres will build a stronger and more resilient tech sector that promotes our economy and unlocks innovation for public good, while creating a sustainable and secure home for Australia’s data. And all this at a scale and speed beyond anything we’ve seen before.

As dedicated advocates for sustainability, we’re committed to reducing Microsoft’s carbon footprint and encouraging other organisations to do the same. Our 15-year power purchase agreement with Fotowatio Renewable Ventures is helping us meet our renewable energy goals. It will also provide cornerstone funding for next-generation energy infrastructure in Australia.

We are proud supporters of exciting innovation in partnership with CSIRO as part of the Health Country AI program. By combining AI with Indigenous knowledge from rangers and other experts, we’re helping discover ground-breaking solutions for environmental conservation. So far, we’ve tackled wetland weed management in Kakadu National Park , threats to turtle populations in Cape York and feral herd management in Northern Australia .

We are champions of diversity and inclusion, committed to doing the work to create an inclusive workplace. As an employer, Microsoft leads from within to promote gender equity, family-friendly policies and psychological safety at work through involvement with organisations like Champions for Change and the Corporate Mental Health Alliance Australia.

All of this work is at the heart of our mission to empower Australians to create a better Australia. To this end, we also work closely with governments, universities and vocational educators, including the University of Technology Sydney’s Human Technology Institute, the Australian National University’s Tech Policy Design Centre and the NSW Artificial Intelligence Committee. Through this work we are driving important conversations around the responsible and ethical uses of technology.

As a new wave of technology creates fresh global opportunities – and threats that all nations must safeguard against – we are incredibly excited about the role Microsoft can play in helping to strengthen Australia’s comparative advantage on the world stage.

I am assured by the incredible creativity, drive and resilience shown by the Microsoft Australia team and partner network. My hope is that we continue to find inspiration and purpose in the work we do with customers, partners and communities to create a lasting legacy of impact.?