The tech giant Microsoft is set to launch its first cloud region in Malaysia with three data centers by mid-year, nearly a year after it announced a $2.2 billion investment in the Southeast Asian country.

Though Microsoft disclosed that the data centers, known as the Malaysia West cloud, will be located in the greater Kuala Lumpur area and will start its operations in the second quarter, it did not reveal the capacity of the data centers.

The Microsoft MD for Malaysia confirmed that as a result of good relationships with all the various stakeholders, everything that we intend to invest and go live with in our region continues to stay on track, despite US export controls on semiconductor chips.

Last year in May, Microsoft announced an investment of $2.2 billion for over the next four years to expand its cloud and AI services in Malaysia, estimating its commitments to generate $10.9 billion in revenues and create more than 37,000 jobs.

 

 

Microsoft set foot in the Malaysian market by opening its first office in Kuala Lumpur in 1992.

 

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Initially it focused on expanding its Windows and Office products. Gradually the company grew its presence by offering software solutions widely adopted by businesses, schools, universities, and government organizations. In 2018, Microsoft invested in local data centers, boosting cloud adoption through Azure and Office 365, which was strengthened by the launch of Microsoft Azure in 2020.

Several industries received support from the Microsoft promoting innovation and digitalization. The current Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia is Laurence Si. He oversees the company's cloud, AI, and digital transformation operations.