Greece is slowly but steadily entering the strategic planning of technology giants, as shown by the decision of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to include our country in the first “batch” of creating “local zones” infrastructure (Local Zones) outside USA, along with 20 other locations in Europe.
This is the latest initiative of the subsidiary of infrastructure and cloud computing services of Amazon in our country. AWS started to be active with Greece in 2019 when it created an Amazon Cloud Front Edge site that united our country and Southeastern Europe in the global network of Amazon Web Services. At the beginning of 2021, a local office was opened in Athens, while it has also signed memoranda of cooperation with the Ministry of Digital Government.
The move also comes as a form of response by AWS to its main competitor Microsoft, which has announced the construction of a Data Center Region in Attica. AWS and Amazon together control a little more than half of the global cloud services market and as IT market sources comment, it makes sense for them to claim a share of the Greek market, no matter how small it is globally.
Moreover, everything shows that the cloud market will grow significantly in the coming years in our country, which lags behind in this area compared to other European countries. All new applications and software created for the Greek State are designed based on the operation in the cloud. Large organizations such as banks and insurance companies are making the transition to the cloud, while the goal of the Ministry of Digital Government is to subsidize the Greek small and medium enterprises that will take this step, through the program that is expected to start in 2022 with money from Recovery Fund.
The importance of investment
Microsoft’s investment, which concerns the creation of three large data centers in Attica, is estimated at 400 million euros, while that of AWS is estimated at tens of millions of euros. Other investments are supported in the development of the digital maturity of our country, such as that of Digital Realty through Lamda Hellix, which is estimated to reach 300-400 million euros, but also many smaller investments of the order of 3-10 million euros by groups. such as TI Sparkle, Hellas Sat, Cloudrock and Lancom.
However, according to IT market executives, in addition to the amount of investments directed mainly at land, equipment and energy, their real impact is that they create conditions for the development of high-tech companies and jobs in our country: From an employee who will can work for a multinational from his home in Greece, or a research and development department of a large group based in our country.
“Digital infrastructure is just as important to most businesses as having a good port, freeway or rail network for an industry,” says an experienced executive at a multinational technology company.
The AWS investment is a prime example. AWS “local areas” offer computing power, digital storage, databases and other selected services through infrastructure located very close to major urban, industrial and technology centers.
In this way AWS enables its customers to bring closer to them critical parts of the applications they utilize in the Amazon ecosystem and thus drastically reduces the response time (latency), ie the time it takes for a data packet to travel from the computer to the server where the application is located.
Netflix, for example, leverages AWS “local zones” to create “virtual workstations” for the designers it employs, who can do their work remotely, drastically reducing critical response time. when you make changes to a 3D design, for example.
Greece as a hub
Apart from the -restricted- domestic market, the location of Greece is also of particular importance, which can emerge as a data hub of the wider region connecting Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Investing with investment, this goal is becoming more and more achievable, as what market analysts call the “Data Gravity” market, which attracts investment in areas such as fiber optic submarine cables, artificial intelligence (AI). , Cloud and Big Data.
.
Source From: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
