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CALGARY – Suncor Energy Inc. is partnering with high-tech giant Microsoft Corp. to harness the power of cloud computing, big data and machine learning in a deal that is being called a first for the oilsands industry.

Suncor and Microsoft will work together on projects over the next several years aimed at transforming the energy giant’s retail fuel network of Petro-Canada stations, tracking data collected at its oilsands projects and changing how people work at the Calgary-based company’s headquarters.

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It’s certainly our first partnership of this kind in Western Canada Microsoft's Sarah Kennedy

“It’s certainly our first partnership of this kind in Western Canada,” Sarah Kennedy, Microsoft’s director enterprise for Western Canada said, adding the deal includes agreements covering Microsoft’s “three clouds,” which are its Azure service, Dynamics 365 enterprise computing and Office 365 software suite.

Kennedy said Microsoft has previously worked on projects in the Canadian energy industry, but the “strategic alliance” with Suncor is a first in terms of its scale in the oilsands as Suncor is looking to make major changes.