Charles specialises in technology and telecommunications procurement, especially in the financial services industry. He has a particular focus on information technology, digital infrastructure and data security, having experience with major outsourcing transactions for both private sector and government entities, drafting IT services and software license agreements, data centre colocation, management and resale agreements, and advising on regulatory issues in a variety of technology contexts, including privacy, surveillance and data security, prudentially regulated procurement and health licensing and consumer law.
- Data centre acquisitions: advised an international investment fund on its bid for a minority stake in an Australian data centre business.
- Data centre procurement: advised a global hyperscaler on procurement of data centre space in Australia, including commercial and regulatory issues associated with colocation, build-to-suit, and build-to-own procurement models and negotiating with potential data centre operators.
- Data centre operations: negotiated multiple long term commercial colocation, management, connectivity and resale agreements for BDx with international telecommunications company Indosat Ooredoo in connection with multiple data centre arrangements in Indonesia and the Middle East, including in relation to a sale-and-leaseback of data centre space.
- Data centre acquisitions: advised BDx on an unsuccessful bid for a South East Asian data centre and internet exchange business.
- Data centre procurement: advised a Chinese investor on a proposed investment in a joint venture to procure data centre space for an AI-infrastructure-as-a-service business.
- Data centre build-to-operate: advised GDS on a data centre design-build-operate agreement for a large international hyperscaler anchor tenant in Malaysia.
- Financial services technology: advised a global bank on the build-and-operate contracts for the first-time externalisation of its trade finance IT systems for provision to customers on a software-as-a-service basis.
- Financial services technology: advised a “Big 4” Bank on a technology project with an international payment service provider to set up a PCI-DSS ccompliant customer rewards program linking rewards to customer use of payment cards and monetising customer spending data
