Microsoft is allegedly intending to invest in new data centres in the Spanish area of Aragon at a cost of more than $7bn (€6.6bn), as part of its ongoing efforts to extend its data infrastructure empire.
Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, confirmed the investment plans in a statement seen by Newsng on Saturday.
The said investments come after AWS made a similar step and Microsoft recently revealed several global data centre developments.
Microsoft said that the cloud and artificial intelligence sectors in Spain would benefit from its new digital infrastructure in Madrid, potentially generating over 70,000 new employment and €10 billion in GDP by 2030.
“Microsoft’s new data centre region will provide cutting-edge, sustainable and secure AI solutions for Spain and the rest of Europe,” stated the Minister.
“It is a great satisfaction that Microsoft is once again betting on Spain for the deployment of state-of-the-art infrastructure and services, thus contributing to the positioning of our country at the forefront of digital transformation,” he added.
Newsng gathered that Spain Central offers some of the most cutting-edge cloud computing services in Europe, including the most advanced services for productivity, data analytics, cybersecurity, computing and storage (Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform), and generative artificial intelligence services.
In addition to offering Spanish enterprises the choice of in-country data residency, the new cloud region will offer highly accessible, scalable, and secure cloud services.
Reacting to investment plans, Alberto Granados, Country Manager, Microsoft Spain, highlights that “We are committed to supporting Spain, by making investments, forging business partnerships, and creating programs that ensure broad access to cloud and AI services that empower organizations and individuals to develop and use technology in ways that will serve the public good.”
We earlier reported that Microsoft made its largest investment in Sweden, announcing that it will spend 33.7 billion kronor ($3.2 billion) over two years to expand cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure.