14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced its decision to invest another $230 million (€170 million) in its data center in Dublin, Ireland in an attempt to expand its cloud business in Europe.
Redmond is planning to hire an additional 400 workers in its new facility whose construction has already begun. The new building is supposed to provide cloud services for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“This expansion is evidence of the continued demand for Microsoft’s cloud services, such as Office 365, Bing, Skype, Xbox Live, and the Windows Azure platform across Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” said Microsoft Ireland’s Managing Director Cathriona Hallahan.
Of course, the Irish government is pleased with the news, welcoming Microsoft’s decision to continue investments in the Irish data center.
“Big data is a sector which offers great potential for Ireland, and which we have targeted as part of our Action Plan for Jobs. In recent years, we have seen some major announcements in this sector,” Richard Bruton, TD, minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation, said.
“Today’s announcement that an iconic company like Microsoft is investing €170m, creating 380 temporary construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs by building a world-leading data centre here is very welcome.”
Microsoft is set to continue investments in the cloud industry, as it’s willing to go on with its migration towards devices and services.
Microsoft’s outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer announced a transformation plan during the summer, planning to push the Redmond-based empire into unexplored sides of the industry that could help the company boost its profits.
This transformation process is supposed to continue with a new CEO at the helm of the company, as Microsoft is now searching for a new leader to take over from Ballmer. Microsoft is negotiating with several candidates, but an announcement is expected to be made by the end of the year.