Microsoft has significantly expanded the capacity of its cloud computing platform Azure in Germany this year and announced plans on Monday to double the offering by the beginning of 2024.
Marianne Janik, chief executive of Microsoft Germany, identified artificial intelligence (AI) applications as the driving force behind the expansion of the cloud business in remarks in Munich on Monday.
More and more German products are using the cloud and AI, said Janik.
"Access to powerful cloud and AI solutions is therefore a basic prerequisite for a high-performance economy," she said.
By expanding Azure capacities in Germany, Microsoft is ensuring that it can meet customer demand. Among the service's customers in Germany are Bayer, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Börse, Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, SAP and Siemens.
Frankfurt, a major international financial centre, is a key location for the Microsoft service. The region is particularly attractive for data centre operators because of the nearby DE-CIX internet exchange point, a major hub for internet connections.
Proximity to the exchange point enables broadband network connections with low data latency.
In global competition, Microsoft Azure has to compete primarily against Amazon's AWS and the Google Cloud. German cloud providers such as the Schwarz Group and Ionos are also locally relevant.
Microsoft did not provide any detailed information on the ecological footprint of cloud capacities in Germany. However, the company pointed out that Microsoft is one of the largest consumers of renewable energy worldwide.
By 2025, Microsoft plans to use only renewable energy all over the world, including in its data centres.
The cloud business is profitable for Microsoft. Worldwide revenue increased by 13% to $56.5 billion in the last quarter, according to earnings figures released by the company in October. Profits, meanwhile, rose by 27% to $22 billion.
