Microsoft announced today that it has launched its Azure Israel cloud region and that its data center infrastructure is available for all users. The Microsoft launch comes three months after rival company Amazon launched its Israel cloud region.
Microsoft first announced plans to set up an Israel cloud region in 2020 with 2021 mentioned as the target date for the launch and start of operations. The project has now been completed with a two-year delay.
Part of the reason for the delay was the Covid pandemic and the subsequent supply chain problems, which postponed the opening of Microsoft data centers around the world, including in Israel. Another reason was because Microsoft wanted to launch in Israel with a wider range of services than originally planned and this required a more complex architecture, according to industry sources. The cost of setting up the cloud region infrastructure is estimated at billions of dollars.
The significance of Microsoft's Azure data center infrastructure in Israel includes support and an incentive for economic development for the country in which it is located, while also allowing governments and regulated industries, as well as startups, to manage work environments that realize the benefits of the cloud more efficiently and faster, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft's Azure Israel cloud region joins the more than 60 such regions operated by Microsoft around the world.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 12, 2023.
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