Google Cloud is working on a colocation data centre project to gain a presence on French soil, reports L’Usine Nouvelle citing Eric Haddad, the executive at the helm of Google Cloud’s operations in France. The company’s first data centre site is expected to open in early 2022 and will be located in the Paris region, relying on facilities provided by colocation operators such as Equinix, Interxion or Telehouse.
Haddad declined to comment on the amount of investment earmarked for the project. He said that Google Cloud’s existing capacity from its European data centres can currently sustain the needs of French businesses. The decision to build a presence in the country anticipates higher demand in the medium term, as France is expected to follow a similar growth trajectory to the US market.
L’Usine Nouvelle estimates that Google Cloud has already invested USD 5 billion in its six European data centre sites, located in Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. In France, the company aims to gain share from several competitors, ranking fifth in the market behind Amazon, Microsoft, OVH and Orange.
