In a blog post today, Microsoft has announced that it will be expanding its Azure services to two new regions in Australia. To put this expansion into effect, the company has collaborated with Australian data centre provider, Canberra Data Centres.

With the new cloud service regions, the tech giant hopes to provide support to crucial national infrastructure in both Australia and New Zealand. Customers will now be able to utilize their own applications within the data centres by connecting them to Microsoft's global network through the Azure ExpressRoute. The company believes that these services will enable easier modernization of critical applications over time.

Microsoft Azure's Head of Global Infrastructure, Tom Keane, mentioned the significance of network performance and security following this move. He also highlighted the expanding availability of Azure on a global scale, noting some of the reasons behind it:

Around the world government and critical national infrastructure providers are transforming operations and the services they deliver to citizens and customers. They are rapidly modernizing their business and mission-critical applications through the flexibility, scale and reach of Azure, partnering with our unmatched partner ecosystem, and placing their trust in us to create a resilient and responsive platform for growth.

Azure is currently offered from three cities in Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. These services are further connected to Perth, Brisbane and Auckland. Microsoft is currently the only global provider in Australia offering cloud services from more than one location. The tech giant's Australia Central regions are currently limited to Australian and New Zealand governments and national infrastructure sectors, along with their partners.

You can learn more about these new Azure regions here.