SAP picks CDC for Canberra cloud site

German software giant SAP has announced it will host its HANA cloud platform out of facilities run by Canberra Data Centres so it can deliver a local solution to its federal government customers.

In November 2014, SAP revealed it would sink $150 million into onshore sites to serve its Australian customers, and committed to opening a HANA facility in Canberra to complement its footprint within Equinix in Sydney.

More than a year later it has now confirmed a partnership with Canberra Data Centres, which operates three major facilities in the nation’s capital: CDC Hume 1, CDC Hume 2 and CDC Fyshwick 1. 

SAP will deliver the services in partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Canberra Data Centres already houses a number of major federal government clients, including the Department of Human Services, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

SAP hopes to allay the fears of its sensitive government customers about moving to cloud-based technologies by keeping their data geographically close.

The company’s public services boss Damien Bueno said the Canberra-based services would deliver real-time in-memory computing to government clients who “have concerns about hosting data offshore.”

“With a secure onshore cloud platform, built on leading-edge infrastructure, we believe all tiers of government can realise their capacity for digital innovation,” he said.

SAP has already signed up the departments of Employment and Education, which have merged their IT services divisions under the umbrella of the shared services centre.

The centre signed a $5.6 million deal for HANA enterprise cloud services in January, which will keep it in licences until at least April 2019. It is using the HANA suite across its payroll processing and financial services functions.

The Department of Employment already hosts its IT infrastructure from within the CDC facilities.