MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES NEW COMMITMENTS TO EUROPEAN CUSTOMERS

Today, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith affirmed the company’s over 40-year partnership with Europe and support for the region’s digital resilience – regardless of geopolitical volatility – by announcing five new commitments to Europe. These start with an expansion of cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe and include a promise to uphold Europe’s digital resilience, regardless of geopolitical and trade volatility.

These five commitments are aimed at promoting mutual economic growth and prosperity. They include:
 

1. Microsoft will help build a broad AI and cloud ecosystem across Europe: The company announced plans to increase European datacenter capacity by 40 percent over the next two years and is expanding datacenter operations in 16 European countries. When combined with recent construction, the new plan will more than double Microsoft’s European datacenter capacity between 2023 and 2027. It will result in cloud operations in more than 200 datacenters across the continent.

1. Microsoft will uphold Europe’s digital resilience even when there is geopolitical volatility: By building a European cloud for Europe, Microsoft is committed to helping Europe navigate the uncertain geopolitical and trade environment and better manage risk by strengthening the continent’s digital resilience.

1. Microsoft will continue to protect the privacy of European data: The company enables customers to control where their data is stored and processed, how it is encrypted and secured, and when Microsoft can access it. They offer customers robust capabilities across the entire cloud stack and back technical solutions with strong contractual commitments, plus a demonstrated history of going to court on behalf of customers. This comes to life through the EU Boundary Project, Confidential Computer offerings and new opportunities for innovation, found on the Microsoft Trust Center.

1. Microsoft will always help protect and defend Europe’s cybersecurity: The company has appointed a new Deputy Chief Information Security Officer for Europe as part of the Microsoft Cybersecurity Governance Council. This reflects the importance and global influence of EU cybersecurity regulations and the company’s commitment to meeting and exceeding those expectations to prioritize cybersecurity across the region.

1. Microsoft will help strengthen Europe’s economic competitiveness, including for open source: The company will build on its set of AI Access Principles and will introduce new enhancements to these commitments in the coming months.

For additional details on these commitments, please visit Microsoft on the Issues.

This video contains:

1. Soundbites from Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith
2. Footage of Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, WA, USA
3. Footage of a Microsoft datacenter

B-roll and other materials including images will also be made available on Red Robots MediaGRAB: https://mediagrab.press/presskit/Microsoft