Microsoft to invest Rs15,000 cr to set up data centre region in Hyderabad

“Customer demand for cloud as a platform for digital transformation, driving economic growth and societal progress across India, is increasing, the company stated in a release.” 

According to IDC, Microsoft data centre regions in India contributed $9.5 billion revenue to the economy between 2016 and 2020. Beyond GDP impact, the IDC report estimated 1.5 million jobs were added to the economy, including 169,000 new skilled IT jobs.

“Today’s commitment to the people and businesses of India will position the country among the world’s digital leaders. A Microsoft data centre region provides a competitive advantage to our digital economy and is a long-term investment in our country’s potential. The cloud is transforming every industry and sector. The investment in skilling will empower India’s workforce today and into the future,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship and electronics and information technology, said.

The Hyderabad data centre region will be an addition to the existing network of three regions in India across Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai. It will offer the entire Microsoft portfolio across the cloud, data solutions, artificial intelligence (AI), productivity tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) with advanced data security, for enterprises, start-ups, developers, education, and government institutions.

To support customer needs for high availability and resiliency, Microsoft launched Azure Availability Zones in December 2021 in its Central India data centre region. This forms the most extensive network of datacenters in the country with disaster recovery provisions and coverage of seismic zones.

“Wipro and Microsoft have been working together for more than two decades to help enterprises drive business growth, enhance customer experience, and provide connected insights. Microsoft’s new data centre in India will help advance our collaboration and drive ongoing innovation for shared client relationships. As Indian enterprises continue to transition and expand their involvement in cloud computing, this facility will provide the critical infrastructure foundation for developers and organisations of all sizes to create new customer experiences, support their business, and harness innovation at scale,” Stephanie Trautman, chief growth officer, Wipro, said.

Telangana is emerging as a ‘challenger’ in the Indian IT sector with its software exports recording an increase of 7 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs5,00,000 crore ($67.4 billion) in FY21, the release noted.

“In the city of Hyderabad and across the state of Telangana, Microsoft will enable opportunities for local businesses to innovate with Microsoft Cloud services. Microsoft is partnering closely with the government of Telangana to accelerate the adoption of cloud, AI, IoT and cybersecurity solutions for governance. This includes efforts to upskill government officials in next generation technology, supporting young girls to build careers in cyber security through the CyberShikshaa programme, and partnering on skilling programmes like DigiSaksham with the ministry of labour and employment to equip jobseekers from rural areas with technical skills.

“I am extremely delighted that Microsoft chose Hyderabad as the destination for its largest data centre investment in India. This will also be one of the largest foreign direct investments (FDIs) the state has attracted. Microsoft and Telangana have a long history, with Hyderabad hosting one of the largest Microsoft offices in the world, and I am happy to see the relationship grow,” KT Rama Rao, minister of municipal administration and urban development, industries and commerce, and information technology, government of Telangana, said.

“Cloud services are poised to play a critical role in reimagining the future of business and governance and enabling overall inclusion in the country. The new datacenter will augment Microsoft’s cloud capabilities and capacity to support those working across the country. It will also support new entrepreneurial opportunities while meeting critical security and compliance needs. The new data centre region is a testament to our mission to empower the people and organisations of India to achieve more. We are pleased to be collaborating with the Government of Telangana on this major milestone and we deeply appreciate their support,” Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India, said,

Microsoft’s customers in India, include Reliance Jio, Inmobi, Infosys, TCS, ICICI, Bajaj Finserv, Apollo Hospitals, Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Piramal, State Bank of India, Flipkart, Pidilite, and Amity. With the expansion of its cloud data center footprint in India, Microsoft is empowering and co-innovating with customers and partners are already benefiting from Microsoft’s global scale cloud services and the new data centre region in Hyderabad will play an important role in meeting India’s burgeoning cloud requirements, the release stated.

Microsoft said it is committed to make data centre operations sustainable, with a commitment to have a 100 per cent renewable energy supply equivalent to the electricity consumed by Microsoft data centres by 2025. The new data centre region will be built with sustainable design and operations in mind, enabling Microsoft to responsibly deliver reliable and highly available cloud services at scale, it added.