Hyperscale cloud and its benefits to the Australian economy
18.12.2023 - 05:19
New research by economics firm Mandala shows that adoption of hyperscale cloud technology unlocks $6.3 billion every year in benefits for Australian businesses and the economy. Hyperscale cloud also directly creates over 8,000 jobs for people working in diverse roles from tech trades peoples to ICT professionals across Australian data centres. This research is the first time the economic effect of the unique capabilities offered by hyperscale cloud have been quantified.
Hyperscale cloud is the critical infrastructure underlying Australia’s technology ecosystem
Hyperscale cloud offers globally standardised services to Australian businesses. It enhances user experiences with high performance and low latency across various domains, including AI, machine learning, big data, and virtual reality. Research suggests that Generative AI, supported by hyperscale cloud, has the potential to add up to $115 billion annually to the Australian economy, and AI more broadly will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
Acting as a central pillar within the Australian digital ecosystem, hyperscale cloud serves as a critical intermediary, facilitating daily business operations and software relied on by everyday Australians. While non-hyperscale cloud providers offer tailored capabilities, hyperscale cloud delivers globally-leading, comprehensive, sophisticated feature-sets to Australian businesses.
This study focuses on measuring the positive impact of the unique capabilities of the hyperscale cloud to Australian businesses. It examines the distinct features that set hyperscale cloud apart from non-hyperscale cloud solutions. While recognising that shared capabilities between hyperscale and non-hyperscale also contribute to economic value, our focus remains on the benefits derived exclusively from the hyperscale environment.
Hyperscale cloud technology is crucial for Australian businesses, delivering approximately $6.3 billion in benefits per annum
Key areas of this impact include:
1) Enhanced Capabilities: Hyperscale cloud's advanced technological functions including on AI, machine learning, AR/VR and data querying have led to productivity boosts, generating an additional $3 billion in benefits for Australian businesses.
2) Operational Resilience: Hyperscale offers increased reliability of services and diminishing expected downtime compared to non-hyperscale cloud, translating to $530 million in financial savings (avoidance of downtime cost). Hyperscale also decreases the expected likelihood of a successful security breach by 30% due to high investments and global threat intelligence, preserving an estimated $480 million annually within the Australian economy.
3) Cost Efficiencies: Hyperscale cloud has trimmed IT infrastructure spending by 5%, amounting to savings of up to $980 million per year for Australian businesses, thus improving cost efficiencies.
4) Market Access: By facilitating access to global markets, hyperscale cloud has unlocked more than a 40% increase in revenue for Australian businesses, broadening their opportunities to serve customers overseas seamlessly and with low latency.
Hyperscale cloud creates direct employment opportunities for over 8,000 Australians, offering a broad ranges of opportunities to a diverse workforce
Over the past decade, direct jobs in hyperscale cloud have more than tripled, from 2,330 employees in 2011 to 8,240 in 2021. This growth demonstrates hyperscale cloud’s vital role in job creation across a spectrum of roles, from tech trades to ICT specialists.
The workforce within hyperscale cloud is diverse, with 73% of the employees aged between 15-44, highlighting the sector's appeal to young Australians. This diversity indicates that hyperscale cloud is a driver of high-tech jobs, and also supports a variety of other professional roles crucial to the operation and management of these services.
Upskilling Australians to work in hyperscale cloud and data centre related roles will help them fill the additional global demand for 140,000 data centre staff by 2025.
Read the full report here.
Read our latest posts
The Fragmentation Tax
Australian retailers operate across a patchwork of inconsistent state and territory regulations that, left unchecked, will cost the economy $26 billion and households $9.4 billion over the next decade. Commissioned by the Australian Retail Council, this Mandala report finds that regulatory fragmentation in retail - Australia's second-largest employer, generating $649 billion in economic activity annually - is compounding the country's productivity crisis at the worst possible time. The report identifies specific issues in transport and logistics, and packaging and waste as priority areas for reform, where harmonisation alone would inject up to $1.65 billion into the economy over 10 years. It recommends the Federal Government use its National Competition Policy framework to drive reform - including a $260 million increase to the National Productivity Fund, a new National Harmonisation Council, and a mandate that Regulatory Impact Statements explicitly quantify fragmentation risks.
23 Feb, 2026
Reforming Victoria's Windfall Gains Tax
Victoria's Windfall Gains Tax (WGT), introduced in July 2023, has compounded a decade of new and increased property taxes that have made Melbourne the most costly major city in Australia for development. Commissioned by the Property Council Victoria, this Mandala report finds that developer taxes and charges now account for 18% of total costs on Melbourne developments - double the rate of Sydney - and that the average WGT liability pushes project returns below the viability threshold. The analysis estimates that removing the WGT could unlock $1.4 billion in additional annual investment, support 2,700 jobs and deliver the equivalent of 3,100 new homes per year by 2030. The report also presents a suite of targeted reforms across financial relief, predictability, and policy alignment that would restore investor confidence while balancing the government's revenue objectives.
23 Feb, 2026
Restoring affordable access to specialist care in Australia
In this report, Mandala and Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) studied the affordability of specialist care in Australia. We find that specialist fees are rising, exacerbating cost-of-living pressures on consumers and worsening the affordability of healthcare. We propose a targeted package of measures to improve consumers' ability to access high-quality care, of their choosing, at fair and transparent costs.
3 Feb, 2026
Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve Design
Mandala's latest report for the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) sets out an industry-informed approach to implementing Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, with a focus on rare earths critical to national security and the energy transition. Bringing together 10 Australian rare earth developers, and drawing on international precedents and economic analysis, the report recommends a commercially viable and fiscally sustainable model to support new investment in Australia’s rare earths sector while managing risk to taxpayers.
12 Jan, 2026