Microsoft is to open four data storage centres in France to meet strong customer demand for cloud computing, the head of the software giant’s French operations told AFP on Tuesday. A lot of them prefer to have (cloud computing) infrastructures and their data in their home territory,” Carlo Purassanta said. France would become the fourth European country — after Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands — to host Microsoft cloud data storage facilities. Companies that hadn’t yet moved into cloud computing “are those which were waiting for the arrival of data storage facilities in France,” Purassanta said. Other hi-tech firms, such as Google and SAP have also announced major investments in France, particularly in the areas of AI and startups, this week.

Source: The Guardian January 23, 2018 09:22 UTC