The global reach of Microsoft’s cloud platform continues to grow as Chinese Internet service provider 21Vianet recently announced that it has begun construction of a new datacenter in Beijing.
The massive facility to be built in the Daxing District of the capital is set to be capable of holding 5,000 cabinets, making it the largest data center in China in terms of cabinet capacity.
According to reports, the 42,000 square meter (452,000 square foot, give or take) datacenter is set to be built in phases, with the first phase expected to be fully operational by the end of 2013. 21Vianet will wholly operate and own this new facility.
Josh Chen, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer at 21Vianet said:
“We are excited to announce the addition of this mega data center in Beijing, China. We believe this expanded facility will further bolster 21Vianet’s leading market position for hosting and management network services.
In addition, we will also utilize this data center to power Microsoft’s premier commercial cloud services. We remain committed to providing our customers with the IT Infrastructure services required to grow their businesses and meet today’s increasingly complex and demanding networking requirements.”
Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the municipality of Shanghai late last year, and agreed to license Microsoft technologies to 21Vianet — the service provider will offer Azure in China out of local data centers.
