IT giant Microsoft Corporation on Tuesday announced that it will offer Indian customers the company's cloud computing services from local data centres by the end of 2015. Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) announced this in the national capital during his two-day visit to India. The firm is likely to set up three data centres in India by the end of 2015.
"With more than 250 million Indians using Internet-connected devices today, there is incredible demand and opportunity for India with Microsoft's cloud services," Nadella said.
Cloud computing refers to renting computer processing, storage and software applications located on the internet for a subscription fee, instead of purchasing them outright.
large companies the world over are moving to this model to save money, and improve their products and services. And, local data centres would help meet legal regulations on data security and privacy, and reduce latency, or the time taken for electronic data to move from one point to another on a network, helping companies accelerate their move to cloud computing.
Bhaskar Pramanik, Microsoft India chairman said, "by offering our cloud services through local datacenters, we can help make Digital India a reality. This opens new possibilities in e-governance, financial inclusion, healthcare and education."
Microsoft's cloud services in India have grown over 100 percent in revenue in the past year, according to the statement, although in absolute numbers, Microsoft's cloud computing revenues in India are very small in comparison with its biggest markets.
Over the last few years, Microsoft enabled its partners with cloud capabilities in order to better address the market. Indian IT services companies such as Bangalore-based Wipro ltd., play the role of systems integrator partners, or vendors who implement and customize Microsoft's software, such as its Azure cloud computing platform and the Office 365 suite.
"Data centre market in India is seeing huge growth powered by increased digitization and use of mobility for both business and leisure," TK Kurien, chief executive officer, Wipro said in the statement, adding that local data centres would also help because "there are sections of industry concerned about data sovereignty and cost of connectivity."
Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990 and now employs more than 6,000 people at centers including a Microsoft Research lab in Bangalore and a software development center in Hyderabad.