Treske calls experts to bring technology skills to Australia

Author: Isha Jain

Australian data centre infrastructure partner, Treske, has called on AI and data centre industry experts to bring skills and education to Australia’s regional areas to help businesses across Australia capitalise on the AI era.

“In non-metro areas, Australia’s technology skills gap is more than a local issue – it’s a national challenge, which needs greater attention,” says Daniel Sargent, Managing Director and Founder of Treske. “By delivering education right to where it’s needed, we’re aiming to help these regional communities thrive in the fast-paced digital economy, and ultimately, make sure the whole country benefits from the AI revolution – not just the major cities.”

For its part, Treske will launch a first-of-its-kind event series where experts on AI critical infrastructure will come together to discuss regional preparedness for AI. The series will commence in Newcastle this March and explore the dynamic terrain of critical infrastructure and how it can be designed and built to bolster AI’s return on investment (ROI) in often under-resourced areas.

“Regions typically feel like they need to go to city to be part of the cloud or AI. And although it’s promising to see more and more colocation data centres taking shape in rural areas, many are still missing the hybrid cloud approach, which requires on-premises infrastructure and on-the-ground skills availability,” continues Daniel.

“Regional businesses want to adopt AI-powered tech – think internet-of-things (IoT) sensors in local council car parks or autonomous vehicles operating in mine sites or on farms – but they don’t have the data centre infrastructure available, nor close enough to the action. This means the efficiency and financial ROI these technologies are intended to yield aren’t being demonstrated, which is holding back businesses’ responsiveness to market demands.”

According to BCG, 70% of Australian businesses are still yet to deliver their digital transformation efforts – a critical first step in effectively implementing AI. In fact, globally, 95% of organisations have an AI strategy in place, but only 14% are ready to fully integrate it into their businesses. Although there are several factors slowing adoption, AI ultimately requires secure, fast access to data to deliver results, which poses a complex challenge for critical infrastructure resilience and scalability.

Joining Daniel on the panel are critical infrastructure experts Robert Linsdell, General Manager A/NZ and APAC at Ekkosense; Rob Steel, Channels and Projects Manager at Powershield; Mark Roberts, Asia Pacific IT Business Leader at Rittal; and Adam Wright, Director and Founder at Ecogreen Electrical and Plumbing.

Specialists in their field, these individuals are motivated to ensure Australia’s regions aren’t being left out of education and development opportunities, and will deliver insights to the Newcastle and regional NSW audience:

• Power-ready AI adoption: Regional businesses should prepare themselves to grow alongside AI demands of today and tomorrow. This is a matter of resiliency, and being prepared in the regions demands on-premises energy efficient, reliable data centre infrastructure – the panel will offer insight into how this can be achieved with a pocketknife of racking, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, precision cooling and management systems. The panel will also discuss the need for government grants – resembling Australia’s solar power installation incentives – to lift local digital infrastructure resilience and readiness.
• Overcoming the far-flung skills challenge: In addition to the value of nearby industry education events, the panel will discuss how important it is to see tertiary skilled courses rolled out through state TAFEs, where there is generally more presence in the regions. The panel will also examine how robust infrastructure deployments can take pressure off local skills shortages.
• Remote AI wins: The panel will share examples of how AI with resilient infrastructure has proven to offer growth-changing outcomes in industries such as agriculture, local government, healthcare, mining, and manufacturing.

On the back of the event, Treske is set to launch its UPS 101 guide – a handbook for IT resellers, managers and system administrators on questions to ask and issues to consider when deploying a UPS for their site or customer.

“The UPS is often seen as a box of batteries, which reinstates IT power when grid power fails,” continues Daniel. “But it is so much more, and the wrong design can cost businesses thousands of dollars.”