Macquarie Government, part of Macquarie Technology Group, has launched a new Microsoft Azure cloud, security, and AI services practice targeting Australian federal and state government agencies.
The move builds on the Azure managed services model delivered by Macquarie Cloud Services to a raft of Australian businesses for seven years. Leading this expansion is Naran McClung, Executive Head of Azure at Macquarie Cloud Services, who has developed the practice from its inception.
The Government practice using Azure has been adapted to meet government security classifications, including Protected-level requirements. It extends Macquarie Government’s established cybersecurity capability servicing 42 per cent of Federal Government agencies, including Tier 1 agencies, into modern public cloud and AI services for the public sector.
The firm said the new practice will mean federal and state agencies can access a comprehensive suite of Azure-native services, including Managed Azure, Microsoft XDR for managed security, Microsoft Sentinel, Azure Virtual Desktop, Azure Local and Managed Fabric.
“Each service is built around a co-managed delivery model, keeping agency teams as active participants in their own environments – bringing expertise and proven delivery models to complement internal resources, not replace them,” it said. “Hybrid delivery is increasingly preferred over fully managed models, driven by cost pressure, legacy complexity and cyber risk.”
“This expansion reflects our confidence, unique experience, and credentials in the Microsoft platform and our commitment to helping state and federal agencies modernise securely, govern their cloud environments effectively and efficiently, and build the data foundations they need to take advantage of AI,” said McClung. “This means a partner with real-world experience operating Azure environments at scale, backed by the security clearances and accreditations the public sector requires.”
“Macquarie Government has spent years earning the trust of Australia’s most security-conscious agencies, and that foundation gives us a unique ability to bring enterprise-grade Microsoft Azure capability to government in a way that’s secure, transparent, and built around how agencies actually want to work,” said Aidan Tudehope, Managing Director, Macquarie Government. “Demand for cloud, data, and AI services across state and federal government has never been higher, and the timing has never been better.”
Azure Local – Microsoft’s hybrid cloud solution – opens a pathway to sovereign, isolated AI hosting for agencies that need to harness AI without relying on frontier models or public cloud endpoints. Running on purpose-built infrastructure with GPU capability, it lets agencies host private language models inside their own security perimeter.
Macquarie Cloud Services has already been deploying Azure Local, working directly with Microsoft’s global product teams and operating live customer environments on the platform. Macquarie Government said it expected sovereign AI hosting to be one of the fastest-growing parts of the portfolio as agencies moved from AI experimentation to production.
Macquarie Government already serves as a trusted cybersecurity partner to 42 per cent of Federal Government agencies. To boost growth in the federal and state public sector, Macquarie Government has recently appointed former Defence advisor Dr Chris Peiris as Microsoft Security and Azure Lead, based in Canberra.
