微軟在非洲押下重注

科技巨頭微軟在上周四表示，他們計劃2018年之前在南非的約翰內斯堡和開普敦建立數據中心。借此，公司可以更有效率地為這片地區的用戶提供Office 365等各項服務。

微軟的云服務與企業部執行副總裁斯科特·格思里在聲明中表示：“非洲云服務日益增長的需求，以及它們催化新的經濟機遇的潛力，讓我們十分激動?！?/p>

建立數據中心的決定凸顯了非洲經濟增長的速度，這吸引了許多希望借機獲利的大型科技公司。例如，今年2月，Facebook就與當地的電信公司合作，在烏干達安裝了500英里的光纖，用以提高該國的聯網水平，獲取更多用戶。

與企業通常用來開展信息技術運維的傳統數據中心不同，微軟和亞馬遜（Amazon）擁有一群聯系在一起的數據中心，把它們當作一個巨大的設施。這些公司會通過這類大型數據中心來提供服務。

微軟和亞馬遜會利用這些中心，按照商業客戶的需求向他們出售計算資源，這樣他們就不用建立自己的數據中心。微軟表示，他們計劃在非洲提供的產品包括Azure云計算服務、Office 365商業軟件和Dynamics 365數據庫服務。

盡管非洲的公司也可以使用云服務，不過這些服務往往都由位于其他地區的數據中心提供，因此速度更慢，更容易斷線。微軟表示，通過在非洲開設數據中心，客戶可以在本地存儲數據，這也可以滿足那些禁止公司在國外保存數據的規定。

去年，IBM表示他們與南非的信息技術公司Gijima和電訊公司Vodacom合作，在約翰內斯堡建立了一個云數據中心。微軟的聲明則似乎表明他們建立了自己的設施而沒有借助任何當地信息技術公司或電訊供應商的幫助。

亞馬遜網絡服務（Amazon Web Services）目前還沒有在網站上列出任何位于非洲的數據中心。

谷歌的發言人表示，他們目前還沒有非洲的數據中心，不過“未來幾年內將繼續積極拓展公司Google云平臺（Google Cloud Platform）的架設地區”。

Facebook盡管不是云計算的供應商，不過在全球各地也擁有多處數據中心，然而目前他們也還沒有在非洲建立這樣的設施。

《財富》（Fortune）聯系了微軟，希望獲取更多信息，如果得到回復，將會對本文進行更新。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

The business technology giant said Thursday that it planned to open data centers in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa by 2018. By opening data centers in Africa, Microsoft will be able to more efficiently deliver its various services like Office 365 to users in the region.

“We’re excited by the growing demand for cloud services in Africa and their ability to be a catalyst for new economic opportunities,” Scott Guthrie, Microsoft's executive vice president of cloud and enterprise, said in a statement.

The decision to open a data center facility highlights the growing economic development in Africa, which has caught the attention of big tech companies looking to capitalize. In February, for example, Facebook partnered with local telecommunications companies to install 500 miles of fiber optic cable in Uganda to improve the country's Internet connectivity and obtain more users.

Unlike traditional data centers that businesses typically use to run their IT operations, companies like Microsoft (msft, +0.34%) and Amazon (amzn, +1.45%) operate clusters of data centers that are tethered so they can operate as one mega-facility. These companies maintain several of these vast data center regions to provide their services.

Microsoft and Amazon use them to sell business customers access to computing resources on-demand so they don’t have to operate their own data centers. Some of Microsoft’s products it plans to deliver in Africa include its Azure cloud computing service, Office 365 business software, and Dynamics 365 database services, the company said.

Although companies in Africa can access cloud-based services, those services are typically delivered from data centers located outside of Africa, which could make them slower or more prone to going offline. Microsoft said that by opening data centers in Africa, customers would be able to store their data locally, which could satisfy any regulations prohibiting companies from keeping that data outside the country.

Last year, IBM (ibm, -0.10%) said it partnered with South African IT company Gijima and telecommunication company Vodacom to open a cloud data center in Johannesburg. From Microsoft's announcement, it appears it is building its own facilities without any involvement from local IT companies or telecommunication providers.

Amazon Web Services currently does not list any African data centers on its website.

A Google spokesperson said that it does not have an African data center but “will continue to aggressively expand our Google Cloud Platform regions over the next few years.”

Facebook, while not a cloud-computing provider, maintains sophisticated data center regions all over the world and does not currently have such a facility in Africa.

Fortune contacted Microsoft for more information and will update this story if it responds.