Plenary Sessions
The Australia data centre market size was valued at USD 4.5 Billion in 2024 and it is expected to reach USD 7.8 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.7% from 2025-2033. The Australia data centre market share is expanding, driven by rising cloud and AI adoption, increasing digital transformation and strong demand for edge computing. Expanding investments from global players, renewable energy integration, and government initiatives for data localization are shaping the industry.Â
On 23rd April 2026, The Melbourne Cloud & Datacentre Convention will bring the entire ecosystem together under one roof - uniting cloud providers, data centre operators, enterprise IT, AI innovators, sustainability leaders, policymakers and infrastructure experts. Running in parallel, a dedicated full-day AI & Cloud track will dive deep into real-world adoption strategies, cost optimization, compliance and scaling AI from pilot to production.Â
Delegates will gain exclusive insights into global and regional trends shaping cloud, data centres and AI- while also addressing Melbourne's unique opportunities and challenges. Expect interesting keynotes, panel debates, fireside chats and case studies covering topics such as AI, cloud computing, sustainability, cybersecurity and data centre construction, operations and management.
Melbourne Cloud & Datacentre Convention 2026 is not just a conference - it's a live marketplace of ideas, partnership-building and future-shaping for digital infrastructure in Australia.
Panellists will discuss lessons learned from both greenfield and brownfield projects, share insights into balancing performance , environmental impact, and time-to-market, and examine how Australian facilities are adopting global design standards to local conditions. Attendees will leave with actionable guidance on how to construct data centers that meets the needs of today while remaining adaptable, efficient and sustainable for the future. Key discussion points, include but not limited to:
The rapid growth of AI and cloud computing is reshaping Australia’s infrastructure landscape, and with it comes an increasingly recognized challenge: water management . Australia is currently home to around 250-300 data centres, with at least 39 more in planning or development, according to market estimates. By 2027, AI and data centre operations globally are projected to consume between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic metres of water annually, which is equivalent to around 30-45% of Australia’s entire yearly water consumption. This panel will highlight emerging innovations, from water-free cooling and liquid-cooled AI clusters to wastewater reuse, circular water systems, and climate -resilient site selection. Experts will also discuss the regulatory landscape, including the need for transparent water reporting and responsible infrastructure planning.
This panel will explore how data centers and cloud operators are optimizing operations while preparing for the next generation of infrastructure. This discussion will explore practical approaches to operational efficiency, including automation, AI-driven monitoring, predictive maintenance and smarter capacity planning, alongside the human challenge of upskilling teams to manage increasingly software-defined and high density environments. The conversation will address how organizations can scale sustainably- balancing performance, resilience, energy efficiency and workforce readiness- without increasing operational risk.
Intimate and reflective in format, this fire-side chat session offers an honest look at what it takes to remain operational when assumptions fail – and why resilience is becoming the most valuable currency in Australia’s digital infrastructure future. The discussion will address practical questions facing Melbourne and Australian operators today:
Panellists will explore the unique challenges facing Melbourne and Victoria, such as grid congestion, connection delays, the rapid shift to renewables and the impact of extreme weather events. The conversation will also address the growing tension between AI-driven power density and sustainability goals, and how closer collaboration between data centers, utilities, regulators and technology providers is becoming essential. Key themes covered:
This closing panel brings together operators, engineers, integrators and end-users for a candid discussion on the real reasons data centers fail. Moving beyond headline outages, the conversation will examine the silent failure points that develop long before an incident occurs: poor design assumptions, misaligned stakeholders, skills shortages, deferred maintenance, unrealisitic uptime expectations and the growing strain of AI and high-density workloads. Panellists will share hard-learned lessons from projects and operations that did not go to plan – exploring what could have been done differently and how organizations can build failure-resilient infrastructure from the outset. As a closing session, this panel challenges the audience to rethink how success is measured in data center projects – not by speed or scale alone, but by long-term reliability, safety and trust.
