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The strong will of a country to progress and develop and the ambition of a technological superpower to expand its reach by drawing strength from the value potential of this place led to the culmination of Microsoft’s large investment in Greece, amounting to one billion euros. , where it creates huge digital data storage centers (data centers). This was highlighted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, today, speaking at the presentation of the company’s new investment in Greece, within the framework of the #GrforGrowth strategic cooperation program, together with Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, at the Museum of The Acropolis.
“Greece has its sun, now it has the cloud,” said the prime minister, who praised the importance of this investment in our country and focused on its benefits. He stressed that the government faces “the digital transformation of the state and the economy as the most critical arm, so that the country takes a leap into the future and that all Greeks are the winners of the 4th industrial revolution.” “In the past, three giant digital data storage stations in Greece would have seemed like a fantastic scenario, but it came true.”
As Mr. Mitsotakis pointed out, it all started at the end of January in Davos, when he had the opportunity to meet the president of Microsoft and convince him to invest more in our country. As he explained, this investment has multi-level economic significance, but also a great social return, and makes Greece a global hub for the cloud, the central storage of digital data.
He even referred to the existing investment through an application in the Museum of Ancient Olympia where, as of 2021, -as he said- “the visitor to the archaeological site will see the three-dimensional representation of the monuments and life of ancient Olympia. as it was 2.5 millennia ago. And every inhabitant of the earth will be able to live virtually in the area and admire its masterpieces. ” And he added: “Think about the infinite possibilities that technology offers to know our culture from a different perspective.”
The Prime Minister referred to “augmented reality” which, as he pointed out, will completely change the way we perceive our monuments. “The past will revive before our eyes. All Greeks and all people in the world who will share this universal heritage of our ancestors are grateful for this offer. It returns technology to its true mission of being at the service of man ”, he stressed.
He added that the establishment of a state-of-the-art data center automatically updates the country as an investment destination and for Greece implies a quality added value beyond employment, which exceeds one billion euros, according to the experience of other countries.
“The benefit skyrockets if you discover the competitiveness and modernization of small and medium-sized companies, discovering the added value that digital services can offer,” said Mr. Mitsotakis.
The prime minister congratulated Deputy Development Minister Nikos Papathanasis and his financial adviser Alexis Patelis who worked hard for this investment, as he said, and stressed that data for the region as a whole will be stored in Greece at a lower cost.
“As a user of digital media and as a citizen, I expect more speed, lower costs and more security in managing the data that remains in place. Quicker response to applications used by the public and a lot of work with the training program of Microsoft for 100,000 of our fellow citizens who will acquire new skills. However, as Prime Minister, my ambitions are greater and, as our country becomes one of the few to host such data centers, it is experiencing a cross-section of Holistic modernization and development. The beneficial effect of such investment in hundreds of companies is well known. Small and medium-sized enterprises will benefit the most, while this investment will boost start-ups, help research and development flourish. the opposition and, why not, to the reversal of the brain drain “, stressed the Prime Minister, to reiterate that we do not have a resource He is an exceptional human in our homeland, but also outside of it.
“Many say that in our time, information is power. Perhaps. In any case, however, information is inextricably linked to economic, political and social life. That is why I welcome investment not only as a technological leap, but also as a step towards democratization, a social intersection that concerns the individual and the whole. In the age of fake news, secure data storage allows for easier verification, while a transparent Internet is a forum for political activism and should be a forum for healthy brainstorming. At the same time, any secure use of information strengthens democratic legitimacy, protects personal data, and ensures the security of transactions, “added Mr. Mitsotakis.
He pointed out, on the other hand, that speed in communication opens a window of knowledge for everyone. It can, under certain conditions, eliminate discrimination, marginalize the margin and promote extroversion, provided that everyone has access to digital services at a reasonable cost. ”Finally, the alarm bell for digital illiteracy sounded, emphasizing that we must combat these phenomena that can create new divisions in the future, if not addressed.
The CEO of Microsoft Greece, Cyprus and Malta, Theodosis Michalopoulos, said that “we will help in the digital transformation of the country” and pointed out that “within the Data Centers’ runs the digital economy of a region.”
The investment refers to the installation in Greece of a significant part of the company’s new technological infrastructure related, among other things, to cloud services activities.
Microsoft’s final decision, with which it chose Greece over other countries, was made two weeks ago after talks with the Greek government and in particular with the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Digital Government and the Ministry of Development.
Microsoft’s new activities will be based in Attica and the relevant discussion with which the consultations were initiated has its roots in this year’s World Economic Forum earlier this year in Davos and in Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s meeting with the president of Microsoft. for any Brad Smith had commented that it is one of the most important that he made in this forum.
The choice of the country by Microsoft for the establishment of its new activities in Europe was made, of course, with strict financial criteria, but also with a lot of work from the prime minister’s office.
The recent vote in Parliament on specific legislative and regulatory provisions was necessary to modernize the relevant framework.
Its implementation is expected to further improve the investment climate for the country as a key destination for foreign direct investment.
Watch the speeches by Kyriakos Mitsotakis – Brad Smith of the presentation of the new Microsoft investment, the added value is expected to reach one billion euros
Source: skai.gr
