Microsoft on Tuesday said that it will invest $1 billion in Poland as part of its plans to open a data centre in the country in a bid to provide cloud services to businesses and government institutions. The news comes after newly released data showed that trade relations between the United States and Poland have strengthened over the past couple of years.
Microsoft is one of the market leaders in the cloud business along with Amazon's Amazon Web Services. Tech giants have been investing more on cloud business lately. The Coronavirus pandemic is one of the latest instances that has seen a surge in demand for cloud services given that millions have been working and learning from remote locations, which is dependent on cloud.
Microsoft makes a big move
Microsoft said that it will pump in $1 billion to as part of a plan to open a data centre in Poland. The data center will provide cloud services to both government institutions and privately owned businesses. The company in a statement released on Tuesday said that it has signed an agreement with Poland's Chmura Krajowa cloud provider to provide the services.
Chmura Krajowa was established in 2018 by Poland's largest bank PKO Bank Polski and the Polish Development Fund to speed up digitization of public administration and privately held businesses. Microsoft will also train people in Poland in cloud-based technology. The training will include e-learning programs, workshops and hackathons covering cloud computing, developing with AI and machine learning technologies, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Microsoft shifts focus to cloud
The news of Microsoft investing $1 billion comes after recently released figures show economic trade between the United States and Poland was valued at $21.6 billion in 2018. Over the past 30 years US investors have pumped in $62.7 billion into Poland's economy. Presently, there are around 1,500 companies in Poland that are operating with investments from the United States, contributing over 300,000 jobs to the Polish economy.
Microsoft's investment in Poland once again proves the company's growing focus towards cloud business. Microsoft is one of the biggest players in the cloud business globally. The new cloud datacenter region joins Microsoft's global footprint that now expands to 59 regions, with Microsoft Azure available in more than 140 countries.
