A year ago, Microsoft revealed it had chosen Sweden as a new Azure datacenter location. A major reason for this choice was to build a sustainable data location, the greenest Microsoft had ever made. Today, the company announced the sustainable Azure datacenter region will be complete in Sweden in 2021.
One of Microsoft’s most advanced datacenters ever, the new location will be in Gävle Sandviken and Staffanstorp.
“Building on Microsoft’s 35-year history in Sweden and strong partnerships across the energy, manufacturing, and retail sectors, we are looking forward to delivering the Microsoft Cloud from this new datacenter region in 2021. We believe that digital transformation should always be both inclusive and sustainable. As such, we will provide digital skills training for up to 150,000 citizens, to help support their employability and empower them to take advantage of the opportunities that this investment brings to Sweden.
“It’s a game-changer that the new cloud region will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy, thanks to our partnerships with Vattenfall and a world-class sustainable design,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations.
Sustainable Native Storage
The datacenter will be used to handle Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Power Platform services, and Microsoft 365 cloud infrastructure. As with other Azure regions, the datacenter will allow Azure customers in the local market (Sweden) to access and store data.
Importantly, providing an in-market data storage solution allows organizations to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Data centers in Sweden continue Microsoft’s expansion in Europe. New builds are also happening in Norway and Switzerland, joining existing centers in Austrian, Finland, Germany, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
