(Lusail) Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it would create 36,000 jobs in Qatar to support the Gulf state’s efforts to no longer depend on its oil and gas industry.
Posted at 4:04 p.m.
Created with the support of the government of Qatar, the new cloud data center will be one of the biggest international projects of the American technology giant.
Lana Khalaf, managing director of Microsoft Qatar, said the project will help the small Gulf country become a “digital hub for the region and the world”.
“We will bring over $18 billion to the economy over the next five years and we will also create over 36,000 new jobs over the next five years,” she said at a ceremony for the project launch.
Cloud data centers, more and more numerous in the world, act as giant warehouses filled with servers that store and process information for companies, governments and institutions.
Amazon, Microsoft and Google are the main operators of cloud data services.
The project should enable Qatar to become more self-sufficient in information technology and speed up data processing, officials said.
At the ceremony, AT Srinivasan, Chief Information Officer of Qatar Airways, stressed the importance of storing data domestically.
Qatar, which is hosting the FIFA World Cup this year, has reaped record profits in recent years from its natural gas and oil, but it has also invested heavily in diversifying its economy as part of its plan. nationwide for 2030.