Macquarie Cloud Services and Microsoft have signed a key Australian datacentre optimisation (DCO) deal, with the tech giant forecasting the enterprise telco’s consumption of Azure public cloud offerings will reach A$278m in the next three years.

Macquarie Cloud Services, part of Macquarie Technology Group, said the contract would see it accelerate Microsoft Azure uptake over three years, helping organisations migrate and modernise infrastructure, improve efficiency, and innovate faster with Azure.

According to Macquarie, Microsoft is essentially forecasting Macquarie Cloud Services’ Azure consumption spend will reach up to A$278 million by 2029 based on its roadmap to date.

Microsoft DCO is a global push designed to help partners accelerate their Azure practices and support customers on hybrid cloud transformation journeys.

“Through this agreement, Macquarie Cloud Services can continue helping customers migrate and modernise infrastructure, strengthen their cloud foundations, and prepare for future data and AI opportunities,” said Vincent Texcier, Global Datacentre Optimisation Centre of Excellence, Microsoft.

Macquarie Cloud Services’ current and future Azure expansion comes as Australia’s public cloud market is expected to reach circa A$220 billion (US$155.6 billion) by 2034, driven by AI, cybersecurity uplift, systems modernisation, and key policy drivers and frameworks affecting major industries such as APRA CPS 230 and 234, the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act, and Essential Eight (E8) maturity.

This is the third DCO agreement Macquarie Cloud Services has signed. Macquarie said it had delivered average cloud cost savings of 26 per cent and reduced operational risk for a raft of Australian organisations.

“By combining our capabilities with the DCO framework, we are enabling customers to move to Azure at scale, while building a foundation for data, AI, and next-generation applications that will ultimately drive the Australian economy,” said Naran McClung, Executive Head of Azure at Macquarie Cloud Services.

“Increasingly, our growth is being driven by customers expanding into new workloads and more sophisticated capabilities as their cloud maturity develops, as well as organisations moving to Azure for the first time” said McClung,” This agreement reflects continued confidence in our Azure capability, experience, and customer outcomes.”