Whakarongorau Aotearoa (New Zealand Telehealth Services) is transferring to a new cloud host by the end of the year.

It was announced that the government service will be an anchor tenant of IT giant Microsoft's upcoming hyper-scale cloud in New Zealand. 

Whakarongorau has been delivering free, government-funded, and round-the-clock national telehealth services across seven digital channels since 2015. It operates over 30 telehealth services, including support for COVID-19, mental health and domestic violence, with 12 clinical teams. 

WHY IT MATTERS

According to a media release, the organisation will integrate its core telehealth system, provided by Valentia Technologies, into a single platform on Microsoft's zero trust-based cloud region. 

The move comes a year after Whakarongorau completed its Contact Centre Platform Replacement project, which aims to modernise its telehealth operations. 

Aligning with its digital strategy, this transfer to the Microsoft Azure region allows Whakarongorau to focus on its next modernisation phase: to adopt advanced analytics and AI tools that enhance operational efficiency and help deliver service "at a greater scale." These include tools for real-time call transcription and customer sentiment analysis.

"This agreement with Microsoft will allow us to deliver secure, seamless services across digital and AI platforms, ensuring we meet New Zealanders’ needs wherever they are," Whakarongorau CIO Mike Mulvaney said in a statement.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Microsoft first announced in 2020 its plan to establish a regional cloud data centre in New Zealand. Its first local partner, IT and hybrid cloud services provider CLC of the Spark Business Group, was revealed in June this year.

Before the official launch of the hyper-scale data region, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), which provides national personal injury insurance, became the first organisation in New Zealand's health system to sign a three-year cloud deal with Microsoft in 2021. However, even earlier, during the height of the pandemic in 2020, the company had already been supporting health organisations in the country with their adaptation and recovery by offering Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare — a suite of healthcare cloud applications and tools.

Microsoft is half the contractor for Te Whatu Ora's national hybrid cloud project, which aims to migrate its ICT systems to the cloud. Cloud migration is one of the government's key initiatives following its decision to limit ICT implementations and opt for "fewer, more robust" platforms. It had uncovered a patchwork of over 4,000 outdated clinical and business applications that became costly to maintain.

Alongside signing an all-of-government service contract with Microsoft in 2021, the Ministry of Health also entered into a separate deal with the IT giant to help enhance the health system's cybersecurity capability.