Netskope secures Australia’s first Indigenous sovereign cloud

Indigenous-owned IT company Dickerson Digital has chosen Netskope to secure Australia’s first Indigenous sovereign cloud powered by Microsoft.

Dickerson Digital and DQA launched the sovereign cloud on Microsoft in February 2024. At the time, the project was described as Australia’s first Indigenous sovereign cloud powered by Microsoft Azure and integrated with Azure Orbital.

The project’s latest iteration will see Netskope’s technology integrated into the new sovereign cloud infrastructure. This platform will allow customers to “securely connect to hosted solutions” within the sovereign cloud and provide an on-ramp to Microsoft Azure and other external services.

Dubbed Secure Indigenous Sovereign Cloud, it has been designed to address an ongoing need for organisations that require low-latency, secure, and sovereign capabilities in Australia’s regional, edge, and far-edge locations.

This project will blend the wisdom of the “world’s oldest continuous culture with cutting-edge technology, building a future that honours the past and secure its legacy”, said Michael Dickerson, CEO and founder of Dickerson Digital.

“There is a massive digital divide between indigenous and non-indigenous populations, and we want to uplift these populations to benefit us all,” he said.

On partnering with Netskope, Dickerson said he was “glad to have Netskope on board for this endeavour, which is about empowering communities and paving the way for future generations of Indigenous tech leaders.” 

“Having looked at different potential security partners, I’m confident Netskope’s team and state-of-the-art platform are the best fit to build a sovereign cloud that operates with the highest security, data protection and sovereignty standards,” he said.

According to Dickerson, the development will equip remote Australia with an essential and missing piece of digital infrastructure, enabling advanced far-edge technology applications such as mobile platforms, remote sensors, and IoT environments.

Indigenous-owned data centre builder Gambarra Kaha will lead the development of over 22 data centres in close collaboration with Indigenous communities nationwide.

This critical infrastructure project will create essential up-skilling and job opportunities for First Nations people in the digital economy. The first two regional data centres will be in Toowoomba and Logan in Queensland and will go live in late 2024. 

The comprehensive training program, facilitated by the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation in collaboration with Dickerson Digital and Netskope, will give participants the qualifications necessary to engage with sovereign stakeholders and systems.

Tony Burnside, VP and head of APAC at Netskope, said Dickerson Digital’s ambitious vision of uplifting indigenous populations deeply resonated with the company.

“We will be working hard to ensure we successfully deliver on the promises of this project,” he said.