James Braunegg was determined to make Micron21’s new cloud platform as advanced, easy to use, and affordable as possible. Photo: Andy Knight.
“We compete directly with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud on a technical level, and we smash them on price.”
Strong words from James Braunegg, but he has the data to back them up. As managing director of full-service technology provider Micron21, James knows what it takes to build something brilliant from scratch.
Exponential growth across the global technology sector has forced data centres to evolve rapidly – and Micron21 is at the forefront. Its Melbourne data centre was the first in Australia to reach Tier IV status, the highest level of accreditation reserved for fully fault-tolerant centres with superior redundancy and availability.
So when global price hikes started pushing Micron21’s clients to the brink for technology they absolutely needed, the team put its foot down.
“We were a provider and user of VMware for cloud solutions, until it changed ownership in 2023 and the cost skyrocketed,” James says.
“We knew if we were feeling the pinch, our clients certainly would too. So we decided to build our own offering, using open-source technology to keep costs down for everyone.”
The result: mCloud, a next-generation platform that delivers fully secured, enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure at a fraction of the usual cost.
The best bit? Everything is hosted, run and secured on home soil.
Micron21’s head of customer and commercial, Sheldon Dyer, says mCloud is just as technically advanced as VMware and the big three (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud) when it comes to virtual compute and storage.
“Australian companies have been looking to move away from the big three for a while now,” Sheldon says.
“Cost has been a huge pressure for a while now, but our industry has also been pushing for more sovereign capability. Basically, people want a cheaper option that keeps their data in Australia without sacrificing performance.”
Micron21’s mCloud platform offers public, private and hybrid cloud infrastructure with ultra-fast, scaleable compute, storage, networking, and more.
Everything is hosted through the Melbourne Tier IV data centre, which synchronises data between three separate locations for high-grade security.
“There are other cloud platform providers in Australia, but being able to click a button and have your data replicated across three centres simultaneously is something nobody else does,” Sheldon says.
“We’ve streamlined multi-site redundancy to a simple yes or no.”
Micron21’s talented team of cloud specialists offers 24/7 technical support based in Australia. Photo: Andy Knight.
If mCloud is so great, why is it so much cheaper than other leading providers?
The secret lies in Micron21’s end-to-end ownership, complete control, and holistic management of all assets.
“While other cloud providers are in somebody else’s data centre using their network and software, we own our entire chain of custody,” James says.
“In short, mCloud costs less because it’s highly customisable and we pass what we save on licensing fees directly to our customers.
“I can confidently say everything within our stack is owned and operated by us.”
Micron21 also allows customers to “bring their own cloud” to the Melbourne data centre. James and his team install their software on client hardware, then back everything up using Tier IV infrastructure as a failsafe.
But it’s not just about cost savings. When Micron21 hosts client hardware, it also carries out all maintenance and monitoring with the added benefit of world-class, IRAP-assessed security.
The birth of mCloud brings Micron21 full circle as a total IT solutions provider. The team now covers everything data and cloud related, including tailored hosting, network, cybersecurity and support.
“We do everything from high-speed internet and website hosting through to vulnerability scanning, remote desktops, solutions architecture, and more,” James says.
“The bottom line is, we provide infrastructure built, supported and owned by Australians, in Australia, for other Australians… and we do it at a lower price point than anyone else.”
To see how the platform compares on price, check out Micron21’s pricing calculator. For more information and a free trial visit Micron21: mCloud.
