Both Microsoft and AWS are to increase investment and data center portfolios in the Telangana region of India.
The two cloud companies already have existing facilities and cloud regions in development and/or operation in the region, centered in Hyderabad, and are to significantly increase their investments there.
Microsoft is set to double the amount of data centers it is developing in the region, while AWS is to increase its data center investments in the area by nearly $2 billion.
“Great News for Telangana! Microsoft announces three more Data Centres (DCs) in Hyderabad,” the Twitter account for the Telangana Minister for Industries and IT posted this week. “The six DCs (three announced in 2022) enable Microsoft to serve Azure's customers in India & worldwide.”
The account added Microsoft conveyed the decision to Minister K. T. Rama Rao in a meeting held at the Davos World Economic Forum summit this week.
“Each of the six proposed data centers will serve 100 MW of IT load on average. The DCs will be deployed in a phased manner,” the ministry added.
In March 2022, Microsoft announced plans for a new Azure data center region in Hyderabad. Reports had been circulating that the company was looking to develop a facility in the area – where it already has a large Development Centre – since the year before.
At the time it didn’t provide a precise location, specification, or timeline details, but local press reported the company had acquired three sites; 22 acres in Mekaguda for around Rs 40 crore (~$5.1m), 41 acres in Shadnagar for Rs 164 crore (~$21.2m), and 52-acres in Chandenvelly for Rs 72 crore (~$9.3m).
“Microsoft & Hyderabad have had a very long and mutually beneficial relationship. I am very happy to learn that Microsoft will expand in Telangana with such huge digital infrastructure projects. I look forward to seeing Microsoft continue to grow in the State,” Minister Rao said.
Microsoft opened three Indian cloud regions in Pune, Chennai (South India), and Mumbai (West India) in 2015. The company has since delisted its Mumbai region; it may have been converted into a reserved access region.
“Hyderabad is one of our most important markets and we will continue to invest in the city. Apart from data centers, we will work with the government to identify special projects and support them in implementing them,” local press quoted Microsoft president of Asia, Ahmed Mazhari, as saying.
AWS to increase investment in Telangana
This week, the Telangana IT Ministry also said that AWS has pledged to increase its data center investment in the area by more than Rs16,000 Crore ($1.975bn).
“We welcome AWS’ commitment to invest ₹36,300 Cr (increased from previously announced ₹20,096 Cr) to set up AWS state-of-the-art data centers in Hyderabad,” the government agency tweeted this week. “This will strengthen Telangana’s position as a progressive data center hub in India.”
The announcement was made at the AWS Empower India event this week. Details of how the investment will be spent were not included.
Following an original announcement of plans for a Hyderabad region in 2020, AWS launched the cloud region in November 2022. It was the company’s second Indian region, after launching in Mumbai in 2016.
The company reportedly has facilities in the Chandanvelly, FAB City, and Pharma City areas of Hyderabad.
Minister KT Rama Rao said: “I am glad to see Amazon expanding on its investment in their Hyderabad Data Centers making it one of the largest FDIs coming into the state.”
Google has Indian cloud regions in Mumbai and Delhi – the former opening in 2017, with the latter following in 2021 – while Oracle has regions in Mumbai and Hyderabad.