Microsoft Corp. has announced plans to further expand its significant and growing investment in cloud computing in Europe by delivering the intelligent Microsoft Cloud from two new data centre regions in Norway: one in the greater Stavanger region and the other in Oslo.
The Microsoft Cloud, comprising Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365, will offer enterprise-grade reliability and performance with data residency from new data centre locations. Initial availability of Azure is planned for late 2019 with Office 365 and Dynamics 365 to follow. Microsoft has deep expertise protecting data, championing privacy and empowering customers around the globe to meet extensive security and privacy requirements with Microsoft’s Trusted Cloud principles and the broadest set of compliance certifications and attestations in the industry.
“Over a billion customers around the world trust the intelligent Microsoft Cloud to provide a platform to help transform their businesses,” said Jason Zander, Executive Vice President, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft. “By delivering the Microsoft Cloud from new data centre regions in Norway, organisations will be empowered through cloud-scale innovation while meeting their data residency, security and compliance needs.”
Equinor, an international energy company, has chosen the Microsoft Cloud in Norway to enable its digital transformation and drive cloud-enabled innovation. The strategic partnership is supporting Equinor’s digital journey through a seven-year consumption and development agreement valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). Leveraging the cloud is a prerequisite for the energy industry’s transformation towards a digital future and secure, reliable and cost-efficient operations are a requirement for Equinor’s adaptation of the cloud.
“Equinor plays a central role in stimulating innovation and advancement of the Norwegian economy and we are deeply honoured to be partnering with them to help take their business into its next stage of growth through the intelligent Microsoft Cloud,” said Kimberly Lein-Mathisen, General Manager, Microsoft Norway. “By bringing these new data centres online in Norway, we are also very pleased to be able to pave the way for growth and transformation of many other businesses and organisations in Norway, whether they be large enterprises, government bodies, or any of the 200,000 small and medium-size businesses that create Norway’s thriving economy.”
Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, said: “The Norwegian government is deeply committed to helping Norway thrive as a hub for digital innovation. Norway needs new industries that create jobs and boost economic growth. In February 2018, the Norwegian government released its data centre strategy ‘Powered by Nature’, establishing that attracting data centres and international investments is an important part of our industrial policy. Therefore, we are very pleased to see Microsoft’s commitment to our country with this new data centre. We believe that data centres and cloud services will help ensure the competitiveness and productivity of Norwegian businesses and government institutions and have a positive impact on our responsibility to our citizens to create an inclusive working life, to the environment and to our economic development and job growth.”
The delivery of cloud services from Norway expands on Microsoft’s existing investments having operated in the country since 1990 with nearly 600 people working in offices in Lysaker, Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø across sales, marketing and development, and a network of more than 1,700 partners. This new investment is the first time Microsoft will deliver the intelligent Microsoft Cloud from data centres located in Norway and is expected to enable greater innovation for oil and gas and other industries, as well as the public sector.
Extending the value of the Microsoft Cloud regions for Norway, customers can also take advantage of hybrid cloud options with Microsoft Azure Stack. Available through service providers in the region, Azure Stack enables customers to develop solutions that harness the power of consistency between Azure and Azure Stack to cater to unique connectivity and compliance needs.
Microsoft has been rapidly expanding to meet an intensifying customer demand for cloud services. By investing in local infrastructure, Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services help companies innovate in their industries and move their businesses to the cloud while meeting data residency, security and compliance needs. Microsoft also has a long history of collaborating with customers to navigate evolving business needs and has developed strategies to help customers prepare for the new European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We have invested to make the Microsoft Cloud GDPR compliant, are delivering innovation that accelerates GDPR compliance and have built a community of experts to help customers along their full GDPR journey.
Office 365 and Dynamics 365 continue to expand the data residency options for customers with 18 geographies announced. The two products are the only productivity and business application platforms that can offer in-geo data residency across such a broad set of locations. Each data centre geography delivers a consistent experience, backed by robust policies, controls and systems to help keep data safe and help comply with local and regional regulations.
