Victoria Minister for Small Business Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis

Global Cloud Company Joins Melbourne Tech Ecosystem

Victor P Taffa

Victoria’s booming digital technology sector received a further boost today with the announcement that major European cloud infrastructure company OVH has established its Asia Pacific headquarters in Melbourne.

“This investment by one of Europe’s major cloud companies reinforces Melbourne’s position as the tech capital of Australia and means more jobs for Victoria.” Minister for Small Business Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis said.

“We warmly welcome OVH and will continue to work closely with them as they grow their business in Australia and across the Asia Pacific region.”

OVH’s decision to set up in Melbourne is a huge vote of confidence in Victoria’s digital technology sector and its highly skilled and diverse workforce.

“More and more major tech players are choosing Victoria thanks to our highly skilled tech workforce, vibrant startup ecosystem and status as the world’s most liveable city.” Mr. Dalidakis said.

OVH’s headquarters will create up to 80 jobs in highly skilled roles including technical sales, customer support and marketing with the potential to consider further investment in the future.

OVH is one of Europe’s fastest growing cloud computing companies with around 1,600 employees and 20 data centres across 19 countries supporting more than a million customers.

OVH is growing rapidly and plans to bring a further 13 data centres online by 2018.

“The ability to recruit top talent in the Victorian market was a key driver in selecting Melbourne for our headquarters, which we believe will support our company’s growth.” Vice Chairman of OVH Laurent Allard said.

Melbourne’s thriving startup sector will also benefit from the arrival of OVH through its Digital Launch Pad program which offers a range of free resources to successful applicants, including cloud infrastructure support worth up to $100,000.

OVH is set to engage LaunchVic, the state’s lead entrepreneur and startup support body, to leverage off its Australian presence and work with local Victorian startups through this program.

OVH’s investment further reinforces Melbourne’s position as the tech capital of Australia and a leader in the Asia Pacific Region.

The French company joins a growing list of major tech companies that have set up regional headquarters in Melbourne in recent times, with the likes of Hired, Square and Slack joining homegrown success stories such as Kogan, Carsales and Realestate.com.au.

Since November 2014, there have been more than 2,350 new tech jobs created in Victoria from investment alone.