A cutting-edge new facility that officially opened today in Lake Macquarie will provide IT support to some of the biggest companies in Australia and New Zealand.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser cut the ribbon on the Hewlett Packard Enterprise IT Operations Centre (ITOC) at Charlestown, marking the next chapter for the local arm of the global tech giant.
HPE Australia New Zealand Director Patrick Matthews said the company's centre originally operated from Kotara, but a move to Charlestown provided a larger, purpose-built space, including high-level data security.
The new facility will provide 'mission-critical' monitoring of IT for more than 25 banks, telcos, health companies and government departments in Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Matthews said the centre's automated systems and 47 staff logged more than 1600 IT-related incidents a day for its clients, with the vast majority identified and fixed before the companies even knew there was a potential issue.
"The centre is the first of its type for HPE globally," he said.
"Since the original centre opened in Kotara, we've opened another 10 facilities around the world based off the processes and procedures done here."
The new facility includes hardened, secure rooms, where passcodes are required and mobile phones are banned, to handle IT operations for clients where data security is paramount.
"Having an ITOC facility in a regional centre just a few hours from our headquarters increased the talent pool and offered city employees the opportunity to move to a regional centre," Mr Matthews said.
"It creates employment opportunities and provides important technical support to our local customers."
Cr Fraser said the new centre was a perfect example of the kind of innovative, forward-thinking businesses the city was working hard to attract.
"Our location, our infrastructure and our quality of life, as well as a move since COVID away from big-city office culture, all make us a very credible and attractive alternative for companies thinking about expanding or relocating," she said.
"We're thrilled HPE has chosen to call Lake Mac home, and look forward to other global companies joining them in the near future."
