As part of a year-long push to increase its cloud service platform, IBM announced in late October that it plans to establish a Paris data center to provide SoftLayer solutions to French customers. IBM hasn’t released specific details about the French data center, except to say it will be capable of supporting thousands of physical servers.
According to the company, the new facility will provide customers in the area with access to more options for moving data and operations onto a cloud platform. The local data center will also enable organizations with in-country data residency requirements to benefit from IBM’s services.
“The Paris cloud center allows us to support workloads and applications from French customers who want their data to stay in the country and secure in the cloud, and provides our global clients with an opportunity to get even closer to their end user customers in the region,” said SoftLayer CEO Lance Crosby.
IBM is offering customers a $500 discount on orders placed for space inside the facility by the end of 2014 to celebrate the opening of the Paris data center. The complex is set to be open and operational by the end of 2014 and is the most recent addition to IBM’s $1.2 billion investment to expand its cloud presence.
The French data center will compliment other SoftLayer facilities in Europe, including an Amsterdam data center and a London facility the company opened in the summer. The London data center was announced in June, and another 15 facilities are being built around the world, bringing IBM’s total data center footprint to more than 40 sites worldwide. The company still plans to open another eight SoftLayer facilities as part of its expansion, including sites in Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Mexico City, Sao Paolo, Montreal, Dubai and an unspecified location in India.
