Microsoft will accelerate digital transformation and innovation in Taiwan through access to secure enterprise cloud services, expansion of Taiwan�s Azure engineering group and local talent development for over 200,000 people

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN
-�Media OutReach�- 27 October 2020 - Microsoft Corp.
today announced another major milestone in its "Reimagine Taiwan" initiative,
including plans to establish its first cloud datacenter region in Taiwan and a
significant investment in local talent and development with the goal to provide
digital skilling for over 200,000 people in Taiwan by 2024. Additionally,
Microsoft is growing its Taiwan Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure
engineering group, which will establish Microsoft Taiwan as a hub in Asia for
innovation in designing and building advanced cloud software and hardware
infrastructure spanning AI, IoT and edge solutions.

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The new investment adds to Microsoft's significant and
recent investments in Taiwan, including the IoT Innovation Center, AI Research
and Development Center, Startup Accelerator and the IoT Center of Excellence. Today's announcement represents
a new commitment in Microsoft's more than 30-year history in Taiwan to�fuel
new growth�that will accelerate digital
transformation�of Taiwan's public and private sectors, helping customers
to reimagine their future by providing access to highly secured
enterprise-grade cloud services. In addition,�Microsoft's ambitious new
skilling plan will help to cultivate and groom tech talent, increasing�future
employability�opportunities for the people of Taiwan.�According to a recent IDC study^[1],
over
the next four years, Microsoft, its ecosystem and cloud customers together will
generate more than $10 billion in new revenue and will add over 30,000 jobs to
the Taiwan economy.�

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"Technology
has a critical role to play in supporting economic recovery and opportunity
everywhere. Microsoft is committed to fostering local innovation to support
digital transformation across the public and private sectors in Taiwan. Our new investment in Taiwan reflects our faith in its
strong heritage of hardware and software integration. With Taiwan's
expertise in hardware manufacturing and the new datacenter region, we look
forward to greater transformation, advancing what is possible with 5G, AI and
IoT capabilities spanning the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge," said Jean-Phillippe
Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales,
Marketing and Operations.

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Accelerating
digital transformation and innovation across industries in Taiwan

Microsoft
will deliver highly secure and scalable cloud services that will help customers
to reimagine their businesses and innovate with confidence, adding Taiwan to
its global-scale cloud, which now totals 66 cloud regions announced. Microsoft
Azure is an ever-expanding set of cloud services that offers computing,
networking, databases, analytics, AI and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Microsoft
365 is the world's productivity cloud that delivers best-of-breed
productivity apps integrated through cloud services, delivered as part of an
open platform for business processes. Dynamics 365 and Power Platform
are the next generation of intelligent business applications that enable
organizations to grow, evolve and transform to meet the needs of customers. At
launch, the new region will deliver Microsoft Azure first with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Power
Platform services to follow.

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Microsoft will help
customers to store data at rest in Taiwan and over 90 compliance certifications
to meet a broad range of industry and regulatory entity standards, under
Taiwan's executive branch of government, the Executive Yuan. As part of
Microsoft's global commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, the company will
shift to 100 percent supply of renewable energy for its datacenters by 2025. Microsoft
is also empowering its ecosystem and supply chain to be more sustainable. To
support customer needs for high-availability and resiliency in their
applications, the new region will also include Availability Zones, which are unique physical locations of datacenters with
independent power, network and cooling for additional tolerance to datacenter
failures.

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Leading local companies across sectors have worked closely with
Microsoft to create customized solutions for their customers, including: Acer, ASUS, Chunghwa Telecom, Delta Electronics, FarEasTone
Telecommunications, TECO Electric & Machinery
Co. Ltd, Trend Micro, Taiwan Mobile
and Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

"Acer is
excited that Microsoft is establishing a datacenter region in Taiwan, and we
look forward to furthering our partnership to help enterprises on their digital
transformation path with cloud and smart technologies, fulfilling our mission
of breaking barriers between people and technology," said Jason Chen, Chairman
and CEO of Acer.

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"Chunghwa
Telecom and Microsoft have closely collaborated in areas including private
enterprise networks, edge computing, smart manufacturing and smart energy, and
provided vertically integrated solutions and applications. Azure's advanced
cloud services, combined with Chunghwa Telecom's telecommunications and
operations expertise, will undoubtedly accelerate innovation across Taiwan's
industries and ecosystem, bringing Taiwan's best-in-class solutions to the Asia
pacific region and the world," said Hong-Chan Ma Senior
Executive Vice President, Chunghwa Telecom.

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"FarEasTone
Telecom is pleased to have formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft. Our core
strategy of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and
world-class telecommunications networks leverages Azure's cloud platform to
create innovative solutions from the intelligent cloud to the intelligent edge.
With the local datacenter region, we hope to generate greater momentum for
Taiwan's innovation, by creating diverse services suitable for a wide range of
industry scenarios, connect Taiwan to the globe, and make it a hub for the
world's innovative applications," FarEasTone Telecommunications, President Chee
Ching.

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Ken Sun, General Manager of Microsoft Taiwan said, "I'm
confident that providing access to scalable, low-latency, and secure cloud
services will equip Taiwan's public and private sectors with the latest AI and
IoT technologies, while meeting the highest cybersecurity, data residency and
compliance standards. Building a world-class, enterprise grade cloud marks an
important step toward the digitalization of Taiwan's key industries. Microsoft
is committed to fuelling innovation and economic growth in Taiwan as it transforms
into the next Asian technology hub."

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Advancing employment opportunities through local
skilling

Microsoft plans to upskill over 200,000 people in
Taiwan over the next four years, providing digital skills acquisition programs
for youth, non-profits, startups and enterprises. This builds on Microsoft's
investment in local skilling programs for students, including internship
programs, STEM Education, and Coding Angels. Microsoft will continue working
with non-profit organizations including the Build the Future, Eden Social
Welfare Associate, Taipei Orphan Foundation and Taiwan Fund for Children and
Families to reskill social workers. In collaboration with leading universities,
Microsoft plans to upskill business leaders, entrepreneurs, and C-level
executives through the AI Business School program. Finally, Microsoft is
working with industry associations to launch a series of re-skilling workshops
for women, including mothers returning to the workplace.

About Microsoft

Microsoft
(Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an
intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every
person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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For
more news and information, visit https://news.microsoft.com/apac/

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