Microsoft opens an entry point in Luxembourg

Today you are announcing the launch of a cloud product with Deep by Post. Explain to us.

. – “This is a project that we have been working on for a little over three years and which will be launched in the next 12 months. Its main objective is really to bring the cloud to Luxembourg. There are two aspects. First, the installation of an entry point to the Microsoft network on Luxembourg soil which will avoid dependence on external communication players. Currently, private or public customers are obliged to connect either via Frankfurt, via Amsterdam, or via Paris, and soon via Brussels. The objective is to enable a direct connection here in Luxembourg, using the quality infrastructure available. Additionally, an infrastructure managed entirely by Microsoft will be set up in Luxembourg to support use cases requiring in-country data localization or low latency for increased performance. This will also guarantee enhanced security thanks to the direct connection to Luxembourg.

Where will the data be and how will it flow?

“The data will be hosted in a data center in Luxembourg. Generally speaking, Microsoft does not disclose the location of its data centers. But, I insist, the data and metadata will be in Luxembourg, they will be operated within the framework of what we call the ‘EU Data Boundaries’. All information relating to the storage and operations of data and metadata within the framework of this project is publicly available in a transparent manner. In addition, information concerning energy performance and environmental impact, such as CO production₂water use and waste management, will be available as for any region in the world.

The investment we are making in Luxembourg is fully in line with our objectives and ambitions in terms of sustainable development, namely having a negative carbon footprint, being ‘water positive’ and ‘zero waste’ by 2030.

You have these objectives, but your Luxembourg partners had to invest? How does it work?

“In general, Microsoft has detailed standard specifications for building or leasing its data centers, including strict requirements for security and environmental impact. Although the data centers in Luxembourg are modern and of high quality, significant additional investments have been necessary to meet these criteria.

On a commercial level, can you detail who the offer is aimed at and how you will handle it, directly or with your traditional partners?

“First, this new solution will be made available to the Luxembourg market and only to the Luxembourg market. Only Luxembourg companies and administrations will be able to use the available capacity.

From a commercial point of view, we have a team covering the Luxembourg private and public sectors, but we also have a partner-driven approach to supporting our clients and marketing our solutions. We have more than a hundred active partners in Luxembourg. This ecosystem of partners, developed throughout our 20 years of presence, is one of our strengths.

It is a very diverse ecosystem in terms of service offerings, in terms of size, from global to local, whether the Big Four, the GSI [Global System Integrators]such as Accenture, Capgemini, NTT or Fujitsu, or local integrators, such as Devoteam, Sword, Deep, Proximus… and finally, we also have partners with very targeted offers, such as the Luxembourg company SK Consulting on the Business Central part. . As part of this project, Deep supported us a lot, from the start, in collecting the needs of Luxembourg customers. They participated in the co-construction of specific architectures for the identified use cases. By necessity, they already know the solution in detail and have defined ‘go-to-market’, but this solution is really made available to all of our partners and all of our Luxembourg customers.

To put it simply, regarding the target, it is really all of our clients, public actors who are interested in both data localization and performance issues, but also large and small private companies, who must respond to regulatory aspects or who are simply looking for a trusted solution for internal use or for services exposed to their customers. There is really an aspect of trust on data localization which is important. We also have start-ups that would be more interested in performance aspects. Regtech and fintech more interested in data localization. This solution is for everyone.

For us, this solution fits into a holistic vision of the cloud. We recognize that not all organizations consider the public cloud for all of their data or workloads. This Luxembourg solution meets some of the needs in a multicloud and/or hybrid cloud approach depending on criticality, regulation and/or sensitivity to data.

Not all SMEs are digitalized in the same way. Are you also going to allow them to access cloud solutions, that is to say help them adopt this solution?

“At Microsoft, we provide the platform. From there, our partners build highly targeted go-to-markets. It turns out that, indeed, Deep – and there will be other partners – is very interested in this market. We are also in discussions with the Ministry of the Economy on the digitalization of Luxembourg’s VSEs and SMEs. The objective is to integrate this solution into packaged offers, with clear concepts, obvious and rapid benefits, easy to market to have an immediate maturity gain in terms of digitalization.

The government is expected to present its new AI strategy before spring. Your solution still brings a card to the ecosystem, in a competitive environment. What does this inspire you?

“We have regular exchanges with the different ministers and ministries in charge of the new AI strategy, here in Luxembourg, but also during study visits to Silicon Valley, to share our knowledge and feedback. .

We welcome any initiative made by the Luxembourg government and even those of our competitors to promote the emergence of innovative solutions around AI, because we consider that it is very important for the Luxembourg market in terms of attractiveness and competitiveness. . All of these initiatives, including ours, mean that each Luxembourg player will ultimately have the most varied set of choices possible. Everyone will be able to choose, based on their own criteria, the best solution. Overall, our solutions are complementary rather than competitive, so I think this is a very positive signal for the market.”