Microsoft expands datacentre footprint in Norway

Microsoft is building two more datacentres in Norway to support its cloud computing services in Europe, following the recent announcement of the “Norway as a datacentre nation” (NADCN) plan by the country’s government.

The datacentres in Greater Stavanger and Oslo will add to Microsoft’s footprint in Norway, which already includes 600 staff and about 1,700 partners.

This will be the first time Microsoft has been able to deliver its Azure cloud services from datacentres in Norway, and the supplier expects to lure the oil and gas and other industries, as well as the public sector, to its services.

The initial availability of Azure is planned for late 2019, with Office 365 and Dynamics 365 to follow.

Microsoft said companies in Europe could use services from the datacentre and adhere to local regulations.

“By delivering the Microsoft cloud from new datacentre regions in Norway, organisations will be empowered through cloud-scale innovation while meeting their data residency, security and compliance needs,” said Jason Zander, executive vice-president for Azure at Microsoft.

Norway’s minister of trade and industry, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, said the Norwegian government wants the country to be a hub for digital innovation. “Norway needs new industries that create jobs and boost economic growth,” he said.

In February 2018, the Norwegian government released its datacentre strategy to attract datacentres and international investments.

“We believe datacentres and cloud services will help to ensure the competitiveness and productivity of Norwegian businesses and government institutions, and have a positive impact on our responsibility to our citizens to create an inclusive working life, to the environment, and to our economic development and job growth,” it said.

Norway is well-positioned to be a location of choice for datacentres, with a climate that can naturally cool the facilities, an abundance of space to build, good access to energy supplies and fast connectivity to European cities.