AGL to move almost fully into Azure cloud by 2022

Electricity provider and gas supplier AGL will move “almost all computing” to the cloud by 2022, with most systems destined to be re-platformed to Microsoft Azure.

The utility said today it had struck a three-year “strategic partnership” with Microsoft, setting Azure “as its primary cloud platform”.

iTnews reported in mid-April that AGL had declared itself “one of the largest consumers of Azure in the southern hemisphere”, and Microsoft has previously reported on AGL’s cloud choices as far back as 2015.

AGL has been moving off its on-premises infrastructure gradually over the past five years, but will now accelerate that transition.

“Already we have nearly 50 percent of our applications in the Azure cloud, which includes systems that support our human resources functions such as payroll, leave, performance reviews and professional development,” AGL’s executive general manager of future business and technology Simon Moorfield said.

“We expect to complete moving our technology from corporate data centres in Sydney and Melbourne to Azure within two years under our cloud transformation program.”

Moorfield said that only systems that can’t be hosted in the cloud “for security or technical reasons, such as some systems used in power stations,” would be excluded from the migration.

He said the Microsoft agreement “is the culmination of a process that started last September when AGL invited proposals for hosting AGL applications in the public cloud.”

Under the deal, AGL and Microsoft will collaborate on an internal centre of excellence, “harnessing data and leading-edge technologies including AI to boost efficiency and create new and compelling customer experiences.”

Microsoft’s data and AI services are also set to play a role in AGL’s Virtual Power Plant project. iTnews was seeking clarification on this at the time of publication.

In addition, AGL flagged an interest in pursuing an internet of things (IoT) strategy “and advanced analytics platform services” in association.

Moorfield said that, once completed, the cloud migration “would make AGL the largest energy company and one of the first ASX50 companies with almost all technology applications in the public cloud, including all of those used at its corporate sites such as offices.”