iseek, the Australian owned cloud, data center and connectivity provider, has announced the next stage of its Queensland regional investment strategy.

This will see the company expanding regional services and introducing Queensland's first Protected Cloud offering.

More specifically, the company is set to deliver the first Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) certified Protected Cloud Services in Queensland, enabling critical data to be held closer to clients and end users.

iseek will leverage its established North Queensland Regional Data Center and partnership with state government owned QCN data backhaul network to provide telecommunications services to regional Queensland.

iseek founder and managing director Jason Gomersall says, “Our new Protected Cloud is certified to the highest levels in accordance with ASD requirements and can be leveraged by regional organisations to ensure that they keep customers data safe, secure and local, not just within Australia but within their region.

The Federal Government recently committed to a $1.35 billion strategy to develop Australia's cyber security industry, promising to create 500 new jobs within the ASD and foster a new industry sector.

According to iseek this is a direct response to recent breaches of citizen data and growing fears over cyber security.

Gomersall says, “In the post COVID-19 world, there has been a significantly increased reliance upon digital services, making the security and availability of data more critical than ever.

“Australians have a reasonable expectation that their data is safe and secure and that they can rely on privacy of sensitive information.

He says, “Protected Cloud Services already exist in other parts of Australia and iseek believes that Queensland is deserving of our own secure cloud services, to keep data locally, rather than being forced to rely on out of state service providers.

This next phase of iseek's investment strategy for Queensland and Northern Australia is also a direct enabler for the recently announced AustCyber's national network of cyber security innovation nodes, including the establishment of a node in North Queensland, the company states.

This means growth and jobs as well as security and success for local businesses so that North Queensland is well positioned to participate in the growth of Australia's cyber security sector.

iseek states it intends to continue investment and market penetration with the development of its third data center in Southeast Queensland this calendar year.

According to the company, this will bolster substantial capability in the state, providing customers with the knowledge their data will not leave Queensland as well as high performing and secure digital services.

Gomersall says, “iseek is working with its clients and partners to lead the economic recovery by building next generation industries armed with digital and capabilities, regional resilience and reduced reliance on southern states.

“Building secure local digital infrastructure is a complex and challenging activity.