Google’s new big investment in cloud infrastructure in Greece

Through a significant and multi-level investment plan both in cloud infrastructure and in procedures and training programs, digital business transformation, etc. The multinational giant is preparing to raise the level of its status in our country The Googlefollowing the path he specified Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

expected development To enhance the digital image of our countrywhich through a network of large investments in Submarine cables and data centers will evolve into «digital portal“Affiliate of the European Union. In this context, the announcements to be made tomorrow Thursday by its President Google Cloud International Ander Fox-Martin And the Google SE Europe President Peggy Antonaco, his presence Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakiswith great interest.

According to reliable information, the plan that the multinational technology giant of our country will announce will have creation of new cloud infrastructures in our country, with which Google will now upgrade the speeds and capabilities it currently provides to its customers through its network of services.

Investment volume, whether it is related to building new investments data centers Or the establishment of stations and hubs within existing stations under “neutral” ownership, as they are called, companies have not yet been identified. However, its direct impact on the Greek economy is expected to be hundreds of millions of euros, as calculated in the case of Microsoft and AWS. For this reason, moreover, the information indicates that this specific investment is also expected To be included in the system of strategic investmentsAccording to the provisions of the last law, which entered into force last December.

Regional Role

In addition, the infrastructure that the multinational company will create in our country will also help in the regional elevation of Greece’s importance on the digital map. Especially since today there is no “heavy infrastructure” from Italy to the Middle East. Subsequently Greece can act as a “hub” for other neighboring countries as well. In fact, Google’s creation of cloud infrastructure in our country coincides with a significant investment it is making in part of the submarine fiber optic cables that create huge corridors, as data travels around the world.

Among the projects in which the American giant is currently investing in cooperation with the Italian company TI Sparkle, is the “Blue Submarine Cable System”, the first of which will connect France, Italy, Greece and Israel and the second (titled Raman), which will be mainly an extension of the first, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Oman And finally, India A “global highway” to transmit information. This particular project started about a year ago and is expected to be completed by 2024.

In short, not only Google It will prepare infrastructure for “hosting” and access to cloud technology, which is not yet clear where it will be created, but at the same time it will connect digital Greece with the rest of Europe and the Middle East, reaching India, which will give The possibility of high speeds in data transmission that would reduce the so-called “latency”‘, that is, the time required to respond to a command or transfer a file.

That is, in the digital age and the new economy It is the key to development, whether we are talking about broadcasting services, communications, etc.. It was also confirmed that the connection of Greece with the specified submarine cable would be from Crete, specifically Chania, where TI Sparkle has already set up a small data center and at the same time the corresponding structures are also planned to be built by others “neutral”, such as those announced by Lancome . It should be noted that companies that already build and operate data center infrastructures in collaboration with all major cloud companies are categorized as “Neutral”.

In other words, they do not work exclusively with the cloud technology of one company or another. It works almost like a ‘supermarket’ where the end customer (enterprise, government, etc.) will choose the cloud technology company to work with. “Neutral” companies often contract with a large technology company to build and lease infrastructure. Even entire data centers.

Software

However, in addition to the infrastructure included in the plan that Ms Fox Martin will announce tomorrow, Thursday, reliable information indicates that a series of programs will also be expected to activate that will take care of the digital transformation of the Greek economy. Among them will be included Programs to train employees or professionals in digital skills as well as programs to support small and medium enterprises Who want to move forward with digital transformation and move their IT infrastructure to the cloud.

Moreover, specific programs will be included in the general “fans” of initiatives launched by Google in the past three years, in cooperation with government agencies, such as the recently run training program for small and medium-sized tourism businesses. With all this, it is also expected to upgrade the Google branch in Greece, where at the moment there is a relatively small team that deals mainly with sales of services, as was also the case with Microsoft, where in three years the employees have doubled, but also for the multi-use subsidiary that it created Last year Amazon Web Services gained a “resonant” presence in Greece.

investment barrage

In any case, the intention of the three big companies in the cloud technology market (AWS, Microsoft and Google) now to invest in Greece as well as other “neutral” hosting providers confirms the fact that our country has developed into an ultimate investment destination for data center development. In fact, in addition to Google, secure information from “bs” indicates that there are two other companies targeting the Greek market and both belong to the group of “neutral” providers.

Watch the video: A tour of the Google data center

One of them, as it was recently revealed, is the American Equinix as well. It is the world’s #1 data center company, headquartered in California and listed on NASDAQ. It operates 240 data centers worldwide in 27 different countries, and at the same time, current investment plans are evolving for companies that have already rushed to take over a position in the Greek market.

Its great investment Microsoft To create three data center parks in Spata and Koropi, with a total value of 1 billion euros, at the stage of completion of the issuance of the relevant licenses But also to the group’s internal procedures, as the head of the Greek branch, Theodossis Mikalopoulos, explained last week during Microsoft’s 30th anniversary celebrations in Greece.

He also indicated that the multinational company is in discussions with local construction groups, while projects are expected to be allocated after related tenders to be held. He estimated that works will start with the new year, 2023, with a horizon to be completed by 2025. For its part, Lamda Hellix, which is already 18 years in the Greek market but now belongs to the American Digital Realty group, has launched its next major investment, which is about 400 million euros.

This pertains to two facilities even according to Digital Realty They will help make Greece international data center and investment attraction, It also happened in Marseille years ago. In the latter, the American company invested 260 million euros, making it the largest digital portal in Western Europe and the ninth largest and fastest growing worldwide, attracting more than 200 international telecom providers. Amazon Web Services will also create one of its next local areas on Greek soil.

The company plans to make the investment by the end of the year, although it has not been decided whether it will do so in a strategic partnership with another data center provider. The largest company – owned by Greece – in this field, and Lancome. A few months ago, the company announced the start of construction procedures for its fourth data center. The new data center will be built in Crete with the direct objective of bringing together all the optical fibers shored from the Mediterranean and the Aegean to the existing and future Cable Landing Stations (CLS) at Megalonisos.

It should be noted that other groups are also active in the data center market, such as OTE, TI Sparkle, Synapsecom, Space Hellas and Interworks, while Hellas Sat is also planning to expand its data center.

strong profile

In any case, these investments create the image of a strong regional player in the global data center market for Greece. It’s no coincidence that Athena is included for the first time in the 10 golden markets to watch, according to the Global Data Center Market 2022 report from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. In its related report, the leading real estate consultancy firm Athens is in the 3rd place among 10 cities worldwide characterized as emerging destinations for data center development. According to the company’s report, which maps the worldwide data center market (2022 Global Data Center Market Comparison), however, the top three – and “mature” – data center ecosystems around the world are Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley and Singapore .