Microsoft is to serve customers in France from multiple local data centers, the company revealed in an announcement that comes hot on the heels of Amazon saying it will launch in Paris next year, and Google unveiling a whole host of new regions.

Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics 365 will be available in France starting in 2017.

Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella – Microsoft

The French connection

“We continue to invest heavily in cloud infrastructure to meet the growing demand from European customers and partners,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO said.

“Building a global, trusted, intelligent cloud platform is core to our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. There’s never been a better time for organizations across Europe to seize new growth and opportunity with the Microsoft Cloud.”

Nadella noted that Microsoft has more than doubled its cloud capacity in Europe in the past year, saying that the company has invested more than $3 billion across Europe to date.

The company has data center hubs in the Netherlands and Ireland, as well as newly opened facilities in Germany and in the UK.

Microsoft also released a book called ’A Cloud for Global Good’ that details 78 public policy recommendations in 15 categories it claims helps make cloud technologies more trusted, responsible and inclusive. 

Brad Smith, Microsoft president, said: “Cloud computing has the potential to solve some of our world’s most challenging issues, but, as with all technological advancements, it raises important questions for society.

“We must work together to build a cloud for global good. Our hope is that the ideas shared in this book will help move technology forward while ensuring no one is left behind.”