Elly Yates-Roberts |
Microsoft has announced plans to establish a data centre region in Malaysia. As part of the new Bersama Malaysia (Together with Malaysia) initiative, the move aims to empower the country’s digital economy and transformation.
Microsoft will deliver cloud services locally and enable data to be stored in-country. Microsoft says that it also plans to provide skills to an additional one million Malaysians by end of 2023 “to help create economic opportunities for people and businesses in the digital era,” and will help form the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council to collaborate on cloud-first policy recommendations.
“Today’s announcement represents a major milestone for Microsoft in the 28 years we have been operating in Malaysia,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, executive vice president and president of Microsoft global sales, marketing and operations. “We share the Government’s commitment that digital transformation must be inclusive and responsible. As such, we pledge to empower one million Malaysians with digital skills, helping them to take advantage of the opportunities this new investment will bring.
“Building digital infrastructure is fundamental to advancing a nation’s digital economy. The upcoming data centre region will be a game-changer for Malaysia, enabling the government and businesses to reimagine and transform their operations, to the benefit of all citizens.”
According to IDC research, Microsoft’s investment in Malaysia will help generate up to $4.6 billion in new revenues over the next four years and contribute more than 19,000 new jobs.
Microsoft will establish its first data centre region in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area and deliver access to the full Microsoft Cloud, which includes Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
“As we cement the Microsoft partnership today, I hope this is just the first green shoots of a broader meadow of investments in Malaysia, for Microsoft and other data players,” said Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia. “This significant investment from Microsoft further fortifies Malaysia’s position as a potential regional data hub and we stand ever ready to welcome more such partners as we work with our stakeholders to continually improve Malaysia’s value proposition in this big data space.”
Microsoft and its local partner Enfrasys Solutions will provide cloud services to Malaysian public sector agencies through 2023. Microsoft will also partner with Censof Holdings, Silverlake Group, and Web Bytes to accelerate digital transformation in the country’s key industries, including financial services, retail, food and beverage, as well as the public sector.