Defence puts another $12 million into Datapod

Defence has put another $12 million behind Datapod, a Canberra-based builder of containerised data centres.

A 2017-era Datapod
Datapod

The fresh investment comes two years after Datapod won a contract to build four containerised data centres for the department, and four years after it won a $7.4 million defence contract for a single facility.

A company spokesperson told iTnews the latest investment from Defence covers 120 modules that are the same basic product as provided in 2020, but in different configurations.

“Investment in Australia’s sovereign industrial capability is essential to ensure Defence can effectively respond at short notice to whatever challenges or threats it faces”, Defence industry minister Melissa Price said.

“This funding recognises the need to have assets on-hand that can be deployed and re-deployed to meet operational needs, without unnecessary delays caused by constructing facilities with a long lead time."

Datapod has been building modular, containerised data centres since 2007. 

ACT senator Zed Seselja said the government’s investment in Canberra’s defence industry “will not only support local jobs and skills in Canberra, but will also ensure members of the Canberra defence industry community continue to be engaged in developing cutting-edge technologies for Australia’s Defence Force."