Global technology companies are eyeing significant opportunities in Greece, leveraging its geographic location and establishing communication pathways with Europe and the emerging regions of Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.
In early January, the government approved incentives for Microsoft Operations 4733 Hellas, a subsidiary of Microsoft, to construct three data centers in the greater Athens area to provide cloud computing services in Greece, with a total budget of approximately 976 million euros. Microsoft’s investment has completed licensing procedures and will begin construction of the first of three data centers it plans to build in the eastern Athens region.
Meanwhile, the French company DATA4, which has a strong presence in the European data center market and collaborates with Microsoft, recently, established a subsidiary in Greece.
There’s considerable mystery surrounding Google’s investment. Some information suggests it will be in the northern part of Athens, with all three data centers (the first expected by 2025) in the same area. By 2030, the American tech giant aims to invest 2.2 billion euros, potentially creating 19,400 jobs.
Digital Realty is executing perhaps its largest investment plan in Greece, concerning its operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. As one of the leading providers of cloud and carrier-neutral data center, collocation, and interconnection services, it announced an expansion of its presence in Athens with the development of two new data centers.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is also making investments in the data center market, with estimates placing them at 200 million euros. This investment marks the first expansion of the “Local Zone” infrastructure outside the United States, with Greece being among the 11 European countries chosen by the multinational giant.
Greek company Lancom, having invested over 20 million euros to date, has initiated a new investment in Crete for the creation of another data center, potentially serving as a gateway to the Balkans.
Sparkle, the international ‘arm’ of Telecom Italia specializing in multi-cloud services, operates four data centers in Greece. Sparkle has maintained a presence in Greece for many years, boasting a significant client base.
The most recent development involves the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Digital Governance and the Ministry of Investments of the United Arab Emirates to implement investments from the UAE for the creation of data centers in Greece.
