Microsoft to establish its largest India data centre in Hyderabad

Microsoft has announced its intention to establish its largest India data centre in Hyderabad to accelerate the country’s digital momentum. Microsoft data centres are already present in Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai, making Hyderabad the fourth. 

The new data centre will not be the largest Microsoft data centre in India at its planned 2025 debut, but Microsoft said it expects the Hyderabad data centre to grow over time to become the biggest of its India data centres. The Hyderabad data centre will be what Microsoft calls a “data centre region”, with facillities spread among three sites: Chandanvelly, Ellikatta, and Kottur. Over the next 15 years, Microsoft said it will invest about ₹15,000 crore (US$2 billion) over 15 years into the new data centre region.

According to a Microsoft-sponsored report by IDC in July 2021, Microsoft data centre regions in India added 169,000 new skilled IT jobs to India’s economy between 2016 and 2020.

Web Werks too is adding data centre capacity in Hyderabad: It has acquired a building in the city that it plans to convert into a 120,000-square-foot colocation space able to support IT loads of up to 6MW. The first phase will be delivered by 2023, Web Werks said.

During a visit to a Microsoft data centre location, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Data centres are an important element of our digital ecosystem that is soon going to be the best in the world. We are conducting consultations with all stakeholders for a New National Data Centre Policy.”