Microsoft begins construction of new Brazil datacenters

Microsoft has started construction of two datacenters in São Paulo state.

The mayor of Hortolândia, Zezé Gomes, announced the works after a meeting with company representatives during the weekend. Microsoft also confirmed the information to BNamericas.

One site is being built near Hortolândia’s Chácaras Recreio Alvorada area and the other in the Taquara Branca region. Both make up a new Microsoft Azure Cloud availability zone in Brazil.

As BNamericas previously reported, Microsoft secured environmental permits for the construction of the datacenters in July last year.

The license for the Chácaras Recreio Alvorada site was granted on July 24.

Details from São Paulo’s environmental agency Cetesb mention that the datacenter will be supplied by 39 diesel generators, 36 with 30m3 tanks and three with 9.6m3 tanks.

The Taquara Branca site’s environmental permit was issued on July 7. It is being built on a 300,000m2 plot of land.

Backup power will come from 42 diesel generators, 40 of which with 28.8m3 tanks and two with 7.5m3 tanks.

Hortolândia expects the project to create 300 jobs. Microsoft has also committed to investing in professional training and social development programs in the city.

SUMARÉ

In addition to the two Hortolândia sites, Microsoft is working on a datacenter in neighboring Sumaré, also in São Paulo state.

“As a result of our investment, Microsoft is projected to generate 50 new direct jobs in the region,” the company told BNamericas last year.

Cetesb granted the environmental permit for the Sumaré facility in September 2022.

Smaller than those in Hortolândia, this site will use 21 diesel generators, 20 with capacity of 30m3 and one with capacity of 5m3.

Investment figures and construction schedules for the three sites were not provided.

Currently, the company operates two cloud regions in Brazil: Brazil South, located in greater São Paulo, and the subregion Brazil Southeast, in Rio de Janeiro, launched in 2021.

Each region features datacenters (Azure Availability Zones) deployed within a certain latency-defined perimeter. Each zone can comprise one or more datacenters.

The new sites in Hortolândia and Sumaré are part of the Brazil South region expansion.

ASCENTY

In related news, Ascenty, which also operates in Hortloândia, is advancing a partnership with edge computing company Azion for the distribution of content on an edge basis for banks, fintechs and retailers across the region.

Azion serves 45 of the 50 largest e-commerce players in Latin America and some of the largest banks, according to Ascenty.

Azion is connected to Ascenty's operations in São Paulo, Fortaleza and Santiago (Chile), not only accommodating its own equipment but distributing technology to customers.