New Delhi: Microsoft has launched its largest data centre in India in Hyderabad as it charts a major course in its cloud and AI business in the country. The new data centre will cater to the increasing demand from businesses in India for cloud services and AI applications.
The new facility, dubbed India South Central cloud region, was opened on August 6 in Hyderabad. Some of the prominent companies already include Adani Group, HDFC bank, etc. Some of the biggest firms already using it are Adani Group and HDFC bank etc. It is expected to bolster Microsoft’s presence as the company rivals Google and Amazon to claim a bigger market share in the growing cloud and AI market in India.
Microsoft expands cloud presence in India
The latest announcement brings Microsoft to four cloud regions in India: that includes the new Hyderabad region along with the existing Chicago region in the U.S., east Asia, and Australia. Its other data centres are located in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. Apart from this, the company is also running two more data centres, which it has tied up with Reliance Jio.
As the demand for Cloud and AI services in India keeps growing, Microsoft has enhanced its investment in India. The company has planned to invest approximately USD 20.5 billion in the Indian market to grow its business in the country.
The Azure cloud business of the company has seen double-digit revenue growth in India in the last two years. This indicates an increase in Indian firms migrating their work and data to cloud services.
Why data centres are important for AI
The significance of data centres is rising exponentially with advances in AI. AI systems need large amounts of computing power to process data, train models and run different applications.
It can also enable companies to host India-based data centres, which can provide data storage and processing near businesses and their citizens. This can optimize performance and minimize delay while utilizing cloud based system and AI-based administrations.
Trusted infrastructure near data at its source and near businesses is critical in providing value by leveraging AI, said Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India. He called the Hyderabad facility an important component of the infrastructure.
Microsoft takes on Google and Amazon
Google and Amazon are also beefing up their investments in India’s data centre industry, putting Microsoft’s latest thrust into this category on a par with the other tech giants. For all three businesses, India is a primary market to look out for cloud computing and AI in the future.
India boasts a substantial online user base alongside a burgeoning startup ecosystem and the integration of AI tools is becoming more common. This has made this moves of global companies to invest in expanding infrastructure in the country more appealing.
But with the fast expanding growth of data centres, there are environmental issues too. For large facilities, a lot of electrical power and water especially cooling power and water—is needed. For instance, worries have been raised by environmental organizations regarding the impact of water consumption in Google’s proposed data center in Andhra Pradesh, especially on the wildlife and biodiversity that live there. Google and the Andhra Pradesh government have denied the allegation that the project went ahead without proper environmental clearance.
Microsoft’s Honnall data centre is thus timely for the digital economy in India. The heavy use of cloud-based services and AI in businesses continues and will further accentuate the need for local computing resources. Ongoing adoption of more cloud services and AI in businesses will continue contributing demand for local computing infrastructure. The new facility will offer a greater capacity for Microsoft to meet Indian customers’ needs and solidify its presence in a burgeoning AI and cloud market in India.
