16 December 2013

A Microsoft office makes us a digital city?

| johnboy
Join the conversation
10

Chief Minister Gallagher is reading a lot into her opening of a new Microsoft office here in Canberra:

Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, today opened Microsoft’s new Canberra office which is the latest major IT company to open a major office in the ACT.

“The ACT Government is working towards creating Canberra as a digital city and the emergence of more IT companies setting up office spaces here in the national capital shows that the ACT isdeveloping as an economy worth investing in,” the Chief Minister said.

“A major priority of the ACT Government is to diversify the economy away from being solely reliant on the public service and I am pleased to see major companies like Microsoft investing in office space in Canberra that help to achieve this change.”

Located in Barton, the new office has been designed to support Microsoft’s embrace of the philosophy of Activity Based Working allowing Microsoft staff to choose when, where and how they would like to work each day.

The flexible and open workplace design offers a host of shared spaces and amenities, and employees can operate wherever they want – at the office, at home or on the go.

“It is always a pleasure to open new workplaces in the ACT and applaud Microsoft for their innovative approach for a workspace for their employees,” the Chief Minister said.

But how many would trade their Surface tablets for ipads if they could?

Join the conversation

10
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

screaming banshee said :

On that note who is left in the Walter Turnbull building?

True. Microsoft are/were the only ones. Department of Comms has left along with PWC. Funny, both of the previous tenants have already gone to Activity Based Working, along with most other professional services firms in Canberra. But congratulations to Katy for just getting on the bandwagon now.

My guess is that they’ve just renovated their existing office space and claiming it as “new”.

Hasn’t there always been a Microsoft office in Barton? Sydney Ave?

screaming banshee7:06 pm 16 Dec 13

c_c™ said :

They had an office in Barton years ago. Did they close it and now they’re reopening, or is this just a replacement?

Yeah I don’t get the fanfare, they already had an office in Barton…perhaps we should also celebrate the vacancy of another tenancy for which the owner will have to spend money with (hopefully) local builders to refurb to modern standards.

On that note who is left in the Walter Turnbull building?

The problem is the free and cheap stuff is not supported very well. Microsoft stuff does have support and certainty and the government needs that. Also with the amount of applications that get installed it would be a nightmare to try and use a mix of free/open source software. It may in fact cost more, because you need to hire more developers and linux/unix gurus earn a lot more than the run of the mill IT person.

They had an office in Barton years ago. Did they close it and now they’re reopening, or is this just a replacement?

Deref said :

Entirely unsurprising. Both the federal and ACT government IT shops are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Microsoft. I’ve often wondered how much money Australian governments export to Microsoft for their overpriced rubbish.

Many years ago Centrelink attempted to ditch their MS stuff and go the Lotus route. They still haven’t entirely recovered from that fiasco. Yes the MS stuff is crap, but they are worlds ahead of the Lotus stuff and a few years later they were back in the MS fold.

ScienceRules11:43 am 16 Dec 13

Deref said :

Entirely unsurprising. Both the federal and ACT government IT shops are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Microsoft. I’ve often wondered how much money Australian governments export to Microsoft for their overpriced rubbish.

+1

Although in fairness it’s difficult to find an organisation that isn’t in thrall to The Beast of Redmond.

Entirely unsurprising. Both the federal and ACT government IT shops are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Microsoft. I’ve often wondered how much money Australian governments export to Microsoft for their overpriced rubbish.

Cashing in on the imminent “Strategic Partnerships” (we cant call it outsourcing – because that was a failure) with the private sector they have been obviously promised.

So instead of being reliant on the Public Service for employment we’re attracting businesses that are reliant on the Public Service for profit? I supose that IT budgets might be more resilient than staffing budgets at the moment…

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.