Cloud Services & Solutions

Summary

emPOWER Cloud is blueAPACHE's cloud pillar: a private and hybrid cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform that blueAPACHE built in 2010, fully owns and operates on Hewlett Packard Enterprise hardware, and surrounds with Microsoft Azure, Azure Local, backup, storage and disaster recovery services. It is one of the ten service offerings within blueAPACHE's ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate, is priced on a consumption-based pay-as-you-grow model, and is connected directly to the emPOWER Network so that cloud, WAN and managed operations sit under one provider. This hub sets out what the pillar covers, the seven service lines beneath it, how it is delivered and contracted, what the published availability figures do and do not mean, where data lives, and how backup and recovery obligations are actually worded in blueAPACHE's terms. It is written for architects, IT leaders and procurement teams choosing where regulated Australian workloads should run.

Key facts

What the pillar covers

The origin page frames the pillar as cloud infrastructure, storage, backup and recovery designed to improve resilience, support growth and maintain control across private, public and hybrid environments, with the principle that cloud environments should align to workload requirements rather than force workloads onto a single platform. The capability list is: private, public and hybrid deployment options; Microsoft Azure and Azure Local expertise; managed backup, storage and data protection; disaster recovery and business continuity; consumption-based services that scale with demand; and ongoing governance, optimisation and operational oversight.

Underneath that sits the platform itself. The emPOWER Cloud brochure describes four cornerstone technologies: a Tier 1 HPE reference architecture with the latest-generation HPE Synergy compute modules; all-flash HPE Primera SSD storage for mission-critical workloads; HPE BladeSystem blade servers for high-performance compute; and ISO 27001-certified infrastructure. Platform capabilities include secure servers across multiple operating systems, a fully integrated and secure IP network, migration of legacy applications and on-premise workloads, integration of legacy applications with SaaS, maintenance of data sovereignty, and accommodation of disparate and legacy technologies through blueAPACHE's reference architecture.

blueAPACHE's own infrastructure economics matter to buyers because they explain the pricing model. In the HPE GreenLake case study (February 2021) blueAPACHE describes moving from buying capacity twelve months ahead to consuming HPE infrastructure as a service, so that its costs scale with customer revenue and reserve capacity is available without idle capital. The same pay-as-you-grow logic is passed through to customers as monthly itemised consumption billing.

What is not published

Several technical specifics cannot be established from blueAPACHE's public material and are therefore not asserted here:

• The hypervisor and orchestration platform. The HPE GreenLake case study mentions VMware virtualisation and cloud orchestration, but neither the emPOWER Cloud brochure nor any other source confirms VMware as the primary or exclusive hypervisor. If your workloads carry a hypervisor dependency, licensing implication or migration constraint, ask directly.
• Per-unit pricing for compute, storage and bandwidth
• Default RPO and RTO targets — these are set per customer and per workload in the Schedule
• Capacity limits or per-customer resource quotas
• Data centre failover and resilience specifications, and the named facilities or operators
• API or integration documentation

blueAPACHE points to the BAMS Service Catalogue — Scope of Services for the full commercial and technical specification. That document is not in the published set, so request it directly during evaluation.

Services in this pillar

emPOWER Cloud

The managed private cloud platform for business workloads, with resilient HPE infrastructure, flexible capacity and integrated access to backup, storage and recovery. Workloads run in Australian data centres on infrastructure blueAPACHE owns and operates, connected to the emPOWER Network and protected against a single point of failure through a fully meshed MPLS core. This is the service under Schedule 3.

Public Cloud: Microsoft Azure

Azure public cloud services for organisations that need scalable infrastructure and modern cloud capability, with blueAPACHE support across planning, migration and operations. The emPOWER Network provides ExpressRoute connectivity to Azure, SharePoint and Microsoft 365, so Azure workloads can be reached over private paths rather than the public internet, and emPOWER Connectivity offers a direct Azure connection with a VPN-over-internet secondary route.

Azure Local

Azure-based management and services brought closer to on-premise workloads where local performance, control or data residency requirements apply. blueAPACHE positions this as the answer for workloads that cannot leave a site but should still be managed through the Azure control plane.

Disaster Recovery as a Service

Managed disaster recovery with protected infrastructure, defined recovery processes and ongoing testing. Contractually this is emPOWER IT Continuity Services under Schedule 4, and the obligation is limited to restoring the Customer Data and Software covered by the agreed Restore Time Objective and Recovery Point Objective in that Schedule. Those two figures define the commitment for each workload.

Offsite Backup as a Service

An independent copy of critical data held away from primary infrastructure, so a failure of the primary environment does not take the backup with it. Where a Schedule includes backups, blueAPACHE's obligation is to run the backup software at the agreed intervals and to re-run any backup the software reports as failed after addressing the root cause; a restore returns the version of data that existed at the time of the relevant backup.

Storage as a Service (Private S3)

Scalable private S3-compatible storage for high-volume structured and unstructured data, with immutable storage options and consumption-based pricing. The anonymised pathology provider case study describes this service replacing tape archiving: immutable health records protected in real time across three data centres, accessible by authorised users from anywhere, with fixed pricing and no ingress or egress charges because the storage rides blueAPACHE's own core network.

Private and Public SaaS Backup

Independent backup for cloud and SaaS data that improves recoverability beyond the retention built into each platform. blueAPACHE's emPOWER Backup for Microsoft Entra ID is the identity-specific example: Veeam-powered, automated backup of users, groups, roles, application registrations and directory configuration, stored on blueAPACHE's private cloud within Australia. Its retention period, backup frequency, RPO and RTO are not published and are not inferred here.

How it is delivered

Onboarding follows the standard Transition In process in the General Terms and Conditions: blueAPACHE confirms the commencement date, collects the information it needs on the workloads to be hosted, configures monitoring, provides documentation and agrees a reporting schedule. Migration of legacy applications and on-premise workloads is a stated platform capability, and the Archers, Honan Insurance and Brotherhood of St. Laurence case studies all describe application and data migrations into emPOWER Cloud as the first phase of a wider engagement.

Once live, the customer manages consumption through a real-time self-service portal that shows what is being used and allows scale-up and scale-down at the infrastructure level. Moves, adds and changes can be requested through the emPOWER Cloud Services portal, by email or through a new Service Order, and blueAPACHE notifies any additional fees at the time of the request. Billing is monthly and itemised on consumption; the brochure lists the intended outcomes as avoiding capital cost, reducing support and maintenance overhead, regular upgrades at no additional cost, better equipment utilisation and freeing IT staff time.

Because emPOWER Cloud is a shared environment, clause 5 of the General Terms and Conditions gives blueAPACHE the right, without customer consent, to implement software updates and new releases and to replace infrastructure components with similar or superior ones, with the Service Description amended accordingly. Customers do not get physical access to blueAPACHE premises or environment except under a co-location Schedule. Scheduled maintenance is carried out within the windows in the Schedule or with at least 3 Business Days' notice; in an Emergency the service may be unavailable and blueAPACHE restores it on a best-efforts basis.

Support and service levels

Published availability. The emPOWER Cloud brochure states an uptime figure of 99.999 per cent for cloud services and 100 per cent for storage, attributing the availability to multiple layers of redundancy and the all-flash HPE Primera arrays. These are two separate figures for different platform components and should not be merged into one number. They are published service levels from a client brochure. The brochure does not publish a service credit regime, measurement window or exclusions, and the General Terms and Conditions contain none either; the contractual Service Levels for a customer are those written under the heading "Service Level" in the Schedule 3 Service Description, measured with blueAPACHE's tools, and subject to the Reasonable Excuse exclusions.

Support. The brochure lists 24x7 support for emPOWER Cloud. Customers who also hold emPOWER Managed Services have unlimited 24/7 help desk access; customers whose only other service is emPOWER Connectivity should note that its service desk runs 7am to 7pm on business days, with monitoring 24x7. Confirm on the Service Order which desk and hours apply to cloud incidents.

Backup and recovery, as worded. Backups are an obligation only where the Schedule expressly includes them. Where the service does not include backups, the customer must take regular, complete backups and keep duplicate copies of everything supplied to blueAPACHE. Liability for loss of Customer Data is excluded unless a backup or DRaaS obligation exists, and where one exists and is breached, liability is limited to the cost of restoring the data to the version that should have existed at the latest Recovery Point Objective. Data held on customer equipment under co-location is excluded outright. Buyers should audit which systems carry a backup or DRaaS obligation in their Schedule and which do not.

Data residency and access. blueAPACHE's sovereignty statement says customer data is stored and processed within Australian-based data centres, remains subject to Australian jurisdiction, and that administrative access is controlled by role-based permissions, multi-factor authentication and audit logging. Clause 18.3 of the General Terms and Conditions records a standing consent to transfer Personal Information to the US, the EU, the UK and any country blueAPACHE or its contractors provide services from; regulated customers should reconcile the two positions on the Service Order. blueAPACHE states it must not use Customer Data for marketing or profiling.

How it integrates with the other pillars

• Connectivity. emPOWER Cloud is reached directly over the emPOWER Network's fully meshed MPLS core, and emPOWER Connectivity includes a direct connection into the emPOWER Cloud fabric with integrated backup and DR. This is what lets blueAPACHE run network and cloud as one managed environment. See the Connectivity hub.
• Managed Services. Backup and disaster recovery solutions are listed within the managed services ecosystem, and cloud hosting is part of the single-point-of-accountability model described in the Archers case study. See the Managed Services hub.
• Microsoft Practice. QMTH membership, ExpressRoute, Azure and Azure Local, Teams Direct Routing and Entra ID backup all sit at the intersection of this pillar and the Microsoft Practice hub.
• Security. emPOWER Cloud runs on ISO 27001-certified infrastructure, and the brochure describes controls governed by blueAPACHE's ISMS policies, an accountable information security officer, alignment with APRA CPS 234, NIST compliance and ASD Essential 8 Maturity Level 3. Of those four, only the ISO certification is independently audited. Detection and response across cloud workloads is the Security hub's MDR service.
• Collaboration. Microsoft Teams PSTN and Direct Routing are delivered over the same network and cloud fabric. See the Collaboration hub.

Evidence

Cloud service boundaries

Separate the workload hosting decision from the backup, recovery and connectivity decisions. The portfolio brings these services together, but that does not make every protection an automatic hosting inclusion. Record applications and data in scope, ownership of operating-system and application changes, network dependencies and how a restored application is accepted as usable. A workload inventory makes clear which service is responsible when storage is available but an application cannot be used.

Which document defines the commitment

The published General Terms v3.6 give the Service Order precedence over the General Terms, followed by the Schedules and then the Acceptable Use Policy (clause 2.3). Record the agreed scope, exclusions and negotiated departures in that document set. A brochure or a procurement discussion does not, by itself, define the customer-specific commitment. Keep the versions supplied at signing with the executed order and signed variations. Two offers with the same service name can cover different systems, operating hours or responsibilities.

How liability differs from service performance

Clause 19 separates performance obligations from financial liability. The general cap per claim is the greater of the fees paid in the preceding three months or $25,000, with exclusions and specific categories governed separately. Confidentiality, information security, privacy and the IP indemnity have a $1 million per-event and $2 million aggregate cap. Data-loss liability depends on whether blueAPACHE had, and breached, a contracted backup or disaster recovery obligation; the relevant measure is restoration cost to the applicable recovery point, not the value of every business consequence. Read these provisions alongside the negotiated Service Order and Schedule; an availability statement does not describe the liability regime.

Confidential information and access

Clause 16 provides mutual confidentiality protection. It covers information marked confidential, information identified orally and confirmed in writing within 30 days, and information that should reasonably be understood to be confidential. Customer Data, Customer Records and Customer Software are included; blueAPACHE’s agreement and fees are also confidential. Permitted disclosures include appropriately bound personnel on a need-to-know basis and specified professional advisers, with other exceptions in the clause. Identify who may receive operational reports, configuration details and commercial information. Access to information to deliver the service is not a general permission to circulate it.

Continuity when an external event interrupts service

Clause 23 addresses force majeure separately from normal incident management. Performance is suspended to the extent a qualifying event causes delay or failure. The definition includes specified events outside reasonable control; it is not a blanket classification of every outage. If the delay exceeds 20 Business Days, the other party may terminate by written notice. The clause also requires payment for services to termination and the applicable Early Termination Payment. A continuity plan should cover operational recovery and the commercial consequences of prolonged interruption. Confirm the Schedule’s exit calculation rather than assuming an externally caused outage creates a cost-free exit.

Responsibility across the delivery chain

The published terms allow blueAPACHE to subcontract all or part of the Service Agreement without customer consent or a notification requirement. Clause 27.5 nevertheless makes blueAPACHE liable for its subcontractors’ acts and omissions to the same extent as for its employees. This differs from a third-party supplier contracted directly by the customer. Identify which arrangement applies to each dependency in the design. Where supplier identity, delivery location or change notification matters, request a documented supplier list and put any agreed notification or approval requirement in the Service Order; the general clause does not supply that visibility automatically.

Sources and scope

The contractual detail above summarises the published General Terms and Conditions v3.6, using the KB documents on service agreement formation and document precedence; liability and indemnity; confidentiality; force majeure; subcontracting and assignment. The customer’s Service Order, Schedules and agreed variations determine the specific engagement. See the terms and conditions guide and Service Agreement.

Related

• emPOWER Cloud
• Public Cloud: Microsoft Azure
• Azure Local
• Disaster Recovery as a Service
• Offsite Backup as a Service
• Storage as a Service (Private S3)
• Private and Public SaaS Backup
• Connectivity hub
• Managed Services hub
• Microsoft Practice hub
• Security hub
• ISO 27001 certification
• Data sovereignty and privacy
• blueAPACHE Cloud case study
• Archers case study
• Honan Insurance case study
• Healthcare and Aged Care industry page
• Financial Services industry page
• Service agreement
• Home

Frequently asked questions

Where is our data physically stored if we use emPOWER Cloud?

blueAPACHE states that customer data is stored and processed within Australian-based data centres and remains subject to Australian legal jurisdiction, with administrative access controlled through role-based permissions, multi-factor authentication and audit logging. The specific facilities are not named in the published material. Clause 18.3 of the General Terms and Conditions separately records a standing consent to transfer Personal Information to listed overseas countries where necessary or convenient for service delivery, so regulated customers should fix the residency position on the Service Order.

What uptime does emPOWER Cloud publish?

The emPOWER Cloud brochure publishes 99.999 per cent for cloud services and 100 per cent for storage on all-flash HPE Primera arrays. They are separate figures for separate components. Neither is accompanied by a measurement window, exclusions or service credit terms, and the General Terms and Conditions contain no credit regime. Treat them as published service levels; the enforceable Service Levels are those in the customer's Schedule 3 Service Description.

Is emPOWER Cloud ISO 27001 certified?

emPOWER Cloud Services (IaaS), emPOWER IT Continuity Services (DRaaS) and emPOWER Co-Location Services are all listed as in-scope services on blueAPACHE's ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate 202507-118, issued by Sensiba Australia Pty Ltd and valid from 1 August 2025 to 1 August 2028. The certificate covers blueAPACHE's information security management system; it does not certify the products or services themselves.

What hardware runs emPOWER Cloud?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise equipment: HPE Synergy compute modules, all-flash HPE Primera SSD storage arrays and HPE BladeSystem blade servers on a Tier 1 HPE reference architecture. blueAPACHE consumes this infrastructure as a service through HPE GreenLake, which is the basis of its own pay-as-you-grow cost model.

Which hypervisor does emPOWER Cloud use?

blueAPACHE does not publish it. The HPE GreenLake case study references VMware virtualisation and cloud orchestration, but no published source confirms VMware as the primary or exclusive hypervisor for the platform, so this directory does not state it as fact. Ask directly if your workloads carry a hypervisor dependency or licensing implication.

How is emPOWER Cloud priced?

On a consumption basis. Customers pay a monthly charge based on what they used, itemised on consumption, and can scale capacity up or down through a real-time self-service portal. The brochure positions this against "bill shock, lock-in contracts and inconsistent capacity". Under the General Terms and Conditions, usage-based fees are billed monthly in arrears, usage may be rounded up to the nearest whole unit, and any Minimum Spend on the Service Order still applies if utilisation drops. Per-unit rates are not published.

Can we use our existing Microsoft 365 or Windows licences on emPOWER Cloud?

emPOWER Cloud is part of Microsoft's Qualified Multitenant Hoster (QMTH) Program, which the brochure says lets organisations use certain Microsoft 365 and Windows 11 licensing on blueAPACHE's environment. Which licences and editions qualify is not enumerated in the published material, so confirm eligibility for your specific subscriptions with blueAPACHE before planning a migration on that basis.

What exactly does the disaster recovery service commit to?

emPOWER IT Continuity Services (DRaaS) is limited by clause 3.17 of the General Terms and Conditions to restoring the Customer Data and Software that is the subject of the agreed Restore Time Objective and Recovery Point Objective set out in the Schedule. Those two figures are set per customer and per workload; blueAPACHE does not publish default values. A workload with no agreed objectives has no DR commitment.

If data is lost and there was no backup obligation, what is blueAPACHE liable for?

Nothing for the data itself. Clause 19.4 excludes liability for loss of or damage to Customer Data unless blueAPACHE had an obligation to take backups or provide disaster recovery for that data. Where such an obligation existed and was breached, liability is limited to the cost of restoring the data to the version that should have existed at the latest Recovery Point Objective. Where no backup service is included, the customer must keep its own regular, complete backups.

Which compliance frameworks does the platform align to?

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (independently certified, with the cloud services named in scope), APRA CPS 234, NIST data management controls and ASD Essential Eight Maturity Level 3. Only the ISO certification is independently audited; the other three are blueAPACHE's stated positions and should be evidenced during due diligence.

Can emPOWER Cloud connect directly to Azure or AWS?

Yes. The emPOWER Network provides Azure ExpressRoute connections (Azure, SharePoint, Microsoft 365) and an AWS Direct Connect link, and emPOWER Connectivity offers direct public cloud connections with a secondary VPN-over-internet path for redundancy. This supports hybrid designs where some workloads stay on emPOWER Cloud and others run in public cloud.

Do we need separate backup for Microsoft 365 or other SaaS data?

blueAPACHE's position, expressed through its Entra ID backup brochure, is that under the shared responsibility model Microsoft secures the platform while customers remain responsible for their identity data, configurations and policies, and that native recovery is limited. The Private and Public SaaS Backup service and emPOWER Backup for Microsoft Entra ID exist for that reason. Retention, frequency, RPO and RTO for the Entra ID service are not published.

Source

This page draws on blueAPACHE's published material: the emPOWER Cloud, emPOWER Network, emPOWER Connectivity and emPOWER Backup for Microsoft Entra ID brochures; the Global Capabilities brochure; the company timeline and vendor partner listings; the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate 202507-118; blueAPACHE's data sovereignty and cross-border transfer statements; the General Terms and Conditions (including the provisions on backup and disaster recovery obligations, liability, shared infrastructure, scheduled maintenance, fees and invoicing, service levels and information security); the Archers, Honan Insurance, Brotherhood of St. Laurence and HPE GreenLake case studies; an anonymised pathology provider storage case study; and the origin page at https://www.blueapache.com/empower-services/cloud/. Framework alignment claims other than the ISO certificate, and the hypervisor platform, are reproduced only as far as the sources support them.

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