What you need to know
- Microsoft announced significant new cloud and digital skilling investments in Austria and Brazil today.
- The moves will establish Microsoft's first datacenter region in Austria and a new region in Rio de Janeiro.
- Microsoft expects to boost digital skilling for 120,000 Austrians and up to 5.5 million Brazilians.
Microsoft unveiled plans to expand its cloud reach in Austria and Brazil today. The company plans to launch its first datacenter region in Austria as part of the initiatives. It's also set to invest further in Brazil with a new datacenter and digital skilling initiatives.
In Austria, Microsoft's first-in-the-region datacenter will bring its cloud ecosystem to startups, small businesses, enterprises, and government, Microsoft says. The initiative involves the establishment of a Center of Digital Excellence, which Microsoft says will focus on "[modernizing] the Austrian IT infrastructure, public government services, and employee readiness." Microsoft is also using its investment to provide digital skilling for up to 120,000 Austrians by the end of 2024.
"Today marks a major milestone for Microsoft in Austria," said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a press release. "This announcement represents much more than building data centers. It is an opportunity to bring to Austria the technology needed for people, businesses and government agencies to reimagine and transform their operations, grow their enterprises, and gain new digital skills."
In Brazil, Microsoft is making similar moves to expand its cloud footprint. The company has launched a "More for Brazil" program, which aims to "advance the country's growth, employment opportunities and sustainability."
The plan calls for job matching for up to 25 million workers while providing free digital skilling for up to 5.5 million people. Microsoft plans to use the initiative to counter deforestation in the Amazon rainforest using AI. The company is also launching a new datacenter region in Brazil, based in Rio de Janeiro.
Alongside the launch of the new datacenter region, Microsoft plans to launch Azure Availability Zones.
"Availability Zones are fault-isolated locations within an Azure region, providing redundant power, cooling, and networking, supporting applications with higher availability and fault tolerance to datacenter failures," Microsoft said in a press release announcing the More for Brazil program.
Microsoft Azure is currently available in more than 140 countries with 64 datacenter regions.
