Microsoft has cut the symbolic red ribbon of its Belgian data center region. Belgian customers can turn to it for local data storage with low latency.
On Tuesday, Marijke Schroos, General Manager for Microsoft Belux, was allowed to push the symbolic button at precisely 4:50 PM to officially open the data center region. Azure Belgium Central is the first Azure region in Belgium and will consist of three ‘availability zones’ located around Brussels. Microsoft announced the construction plans in 2021 and four years later the data centers are operational.
“The launch of the Belgian cloud region is a historic moment for Microsoft and for Belgium. With this infrastructure, we are making our cloud services locally available, so that Belgian companies, governments and institutions can innovate faster, more securely and with greater confidence. This is not just an investment in technology, but also in the future of the Belgian digital economy,” says Schroos.
70+ Azure Regions
With the opening of Azure Belgium Central, Microsoft is adding our country to the long list of available Azure regions worldwide. This now includes more than seventy regions, supported by more than four hundred data centers. For security reasons, Microsoft keeps the exact location of its data centers secret, but these have been built in the periphery of the capital Brussels. In 2022, ITdaily was allowed to take a virtual look.
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Microsoft Opens Azure Belgium Central: First Belgian Data Center Region
Each region has multiple data centers to absorb the impact of failures in one data center. Via local partners LCL and Digital Realty, ‘ExpressRoutes’ can also be laid between on-prem networks and the Microsoft cloud.
Microsoft sees its data centers as an important stimulus for the Belgian economy. It refers to an IDC study that calculates that cloud services will generate up to 59 billion euros in additional income over four years above the level of 2025 for partners, in addition to the 85,000 jobs that Microsoft expects to create.
Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) welcomes Microsoft with open arms. “With the arrival of this cloud region, Belgium is strengthening its role as a key player in Europe’s digital transformation. By keeping data safe and close to home, we are not only increasing our productivity and economic strength, but also positioning our country as a leader in digital innovation. This investment makes Belgium an essential link in the digital sovereignty of Europe. It is an opportunity that our country must seize with both hands.”
Data in Belgium
According to Regional Technology Officer Frank Callewaert, the availability of a local data center region offers two advantages. The first is lower latency because data has to travel less ‘distance’. “The use of the cloud is increasing exponentially. With extra data centers, we create extra capacity. Belgium has good connectivity with the rest of Europe.”
With the promise that data will remain in Belgium, Microsoft mainly wants to appease its customers from the public sector. Microsoft has collaborations with both national and international institutions based in Brussels. “Some customers want the guarantee that their data will remain within Belgium for technical or political reasons,” says Callewaert.
Microsoft recently admitted that it cannot fully guarantee sovereignty due to American legislation. “Sovereignty is a broad concept with different definitions,” Callewaert counters. “You have data and technical sovereignty. Keeping data in Belgium is an important start. Regardless of which data centers our European customers use, we promise that data will not leave Europe.”
“Protection against governments, and mainly non-European ones, is another aspect. Microsoft has a history of defending customer data. If a customer is sanctioned by a government, we have defined clear steps. In addition, we work in, among others, France and Germany with select local partners who are licensed to run Microsoft cloud services without our involvement,” Callewaert adds.
He is assisted in this by Miguel De Bruycker, Managing Director of the CCB. “There is also disagreement within Europe about what sovereignty is. The European criteria are not accepted by all member states,” he says during a panel. “It is difficult to implement something that is not clear. Because who are you protecting yourself against? And what is wrong with a non-sovereign cloud then?”
Building the Future
The Belgian Azure region fits within broader expansion plans of Microsoft in Europe. Callewaert cannot yet confirm whether we can expect additional data center regions in the future. “We continuously evaluate and adjust our capacity to the needs of our customers. Our data centers are standardized to provide security conformity. The architecture makes it possible.”
“We will continue to invest in Europe and if that is possible in Belgium, it will be in Belgium. But a data center is not built in one day,” Callewaert concludes.