Microsoft Announces Cloud Data Centers in Switzerland

Microsoft Announces Cloud Data Centers in Switzerland

Big news for the Swiss finance and luxury industries! Starting in 2019, Microsoft will offer its hyperscale cloud services from data centers in the cantons of Zurich and Geneva, ensuring the physical storage of data in Switzerland. This means that Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 services data will be hosted and processed in Switzerland, a huge step forward in bringing Swiss SMEs and large companies to the cloud, including those from industries with very sensitive data.

Physical data storage in Switzerland was the missing piece for many Swiss companies, especially in the finance industry, when considering a transition to the cloud. Microsoft will be the first global hyperscale cloud provider to guarantee this additional layer of control. It makes the Microsoft Cloud accessible to customers with particularly sensitive data and strict regulatory requirements, such as banks and insurance companies. It will also help persuade reluctant smaller firms to make a step towards “this cloud thing” that many in the country still struggle to understand and trust.

At Sensdat, we are convinced that in the near future every company will be in the cloud, especially as younger leaders take on executive roles. Cloud computing offers not only lower IT infrastructure costs (when managed properly) but also incredibly powerful analytics platforms empowered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. This makes the cloud vs on-premise equation a no-brainer for any business willing to remain competitive in a world flooded with data. A great example of such powerful platforms is Microsoft’s Cortana analytics suite, running on the MS cloud called “Azure”.

We are extremely excited to see Microsoft building data centers in Geneva and Zurich, which will – no doubt – help convince Swiss companies to embrace the full power of MS Azure cloud and office 365 apps. This great news also coincides well with our plans to open an office in Geneva by mid-2018.

We can’t wait to embark on this journey and bring the power of cloud analytics to Swiss companies.

Stay tuned!

Kevin

Kevin Follonier is a swiss co-founder and CEO of Sensdat, a data analytics consulting firm helping people and companies make sense of their data.

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