Microsoft is setting up its fourth data centre in the country at an investment of Rs 15,000 crore over a period of 15 years.

The data centre, which will be its largest in India, will come up in Hyderabad and is expected to be operational by 2025.

Though Microsoft did not disclose the investment amount, Telangana minister for IT and industries K.T. Rama Rao said at a function that it will be over Rs 15,000 crore.

A statement from Microsoft said the strategic investment is aligned with its commitment to help customers thrive in a cloud and AI-enabled digital economy and will become part of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure.

It pointed out that customer demand for cloud as a platform for digital transformation, driving economic growth and societal progress across India, is increasing.

Quoting IDC, Microsoft said its data centre regions in India contributed $9.5 billion revenue to the economy between 2016 and 2020 and beyond GDP impact, the IDC report estimated 1.5 million jobs were added to the economy, including 169,000 new skilled IT jobs.

The Hyderabad data centre will be an addition to the existing network of three regions in the country across Pune, Mumbai, and Chennai.

Wide range

The centre will offer the entire Microsoft portfolio across the cloud, data solutions, artificial intelligence (AI), productivity tools, and customer relationship management (CRM) with advanced data security, for enterprises, start-ups, developers, education, and government institutions.

“Cloud services are poised to play a critical role in re-imagining the future of business and governance and enabling overall inclusion in the country. The new data centre will augment Microsoft’s cloud capabilities and capacity to support those working across the country,’’ said Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India.

It will also support new entrepreneurial opportunities while meeting critical security and compliance needs.

Maheshwari said over the last two years, Microsoft had doubled the data centre capacity in India.