Amazon and Oracle invest billions into Spain’s cloud regions

Spain’s tech industry has received a huge boost with both Amazon and Oracle stepping up their investment in the country.

Oracle announced last week that it will be investing an extra $1 billion in the region over the next ten years, and will be opening a third cloud region in Spain. The company will establish the new public cloud region in Madrid to “meet the rapidly growing demand for its AI and cloud services in Spain”.

Oracle’s first Spanish region, set up in Madrid in 2022, was subsequently joined by an EU sovereign cloud region in the capital, offering many of the same cloud services as the public cloud regions, but with infrastructure based and operated exclusively within the EU.

Amazon expands Spanish cloud regions

Amazon, which moved into the Spanish market in 2011, is also growing its operations in the country, with an emphasis on its cloud services.

Last week, the company announced it hit a hiring milestone two years ahead of schedule: in late 2023, it reached a headcount of 25,000, a figure it was planning to hit at the end of 2025.

Earlier this year, Amazon also announced it would be increasing its AWS presence in Spain, with funding of €15.7 billion over the next ten years. According to AWS, around 15,700 jobs will be “supported”, directly or indirectly, by its investment in the country.

The expansion of AWS’ Spain operations will also see the company building out its cloud region in Aragón, to the north of the country, which is used by the likes of Spanish telco Telefonica and bank BBVA, as well as local startups.

The company has also funded other initiatives in the region, including providing €264,000 of funding for two Economic Social Funds in Aragón. This is focused on projects in areas such as STEM, the arts and sustainability.

Related: AWS launches $230 million initiative for generative AI startups

Microsoft adding to its Spain investment

The two tech giants, who have been operating cloud regions in the country for a number of years, have recently been joined by Microsoft: Redmond set up its own Madrid-based public cloud region earlier this month. It’s unlikely to remain the company’s sole Spanish region for long: if reports are correct, Microsoft will be joining AWS by setting up a new region in Aragón.

Microsoft has committed to significant investment in the country: it plans to spend over $2 billion in Spain over the next couple of years. Alongside its cloud build-out, it will be offering training in cloud and AI tech for unemployed people in the country, as well as offering funding for local projects in areas including digital skills. 

According to research from analysts IDC, IT spending in Spain was projected to reach $64 billion last year, and increase to $74 billion by 2026. Perhaps unsurprisingly, security and artificial intelligence will see some of the sharpest growth in the coming years.