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Microsoft May Halt the Expansion of a UK Datacenter Due To Brexit (onmsft.com)

On Monday, Microsoft hosted an online event to discuss the impact of the UK's departure from the European Union on the tech industry. The company currently has two large datacentres in the UK, and it is expanding those in response to vigorous demand for cloud services. But Brexit could throw a spanner in the works. From a report: Microsoft's UK Government Affairs Manager Owen Larter said, "We're really keen to avoid import tariffs on any hardware. Going back to the datacenter example, we're looking to build out our datacenters at a pretty strong lick in the UK, because the market is doing very well. If all of a sudden there are huge import [tariffs] on server racks from China or from eastern Europe, where a lot of them are actually assembled, that might change our investment decisions and perhaps we build out our datacenters across other European countries." Simply put, if they cannot build in Britain, then they will build surrounding it. Currently, the data is shared freely between the EU countries without any issues. This is because they all have similar security between them. However, if the UK leaves the EU, then this could cause even more issues for Microsoft.

4 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I call BS by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 4, Interesting


    If the UK chooses what seems to be an inevitable hard Brexit AND repels all EU laws that means that a lot of the standard business practices Microsoft streamlines across Europe will now have to have special considerations.

    Depending on how idiotic Brexit becomes all multinational business will be forced to rethink their UK strategy.

    The UK is not simply closing shop but it may, via Brexit, stop conducting business in the same way it previously had and in some cases that will be worse than closing shop for all the planning ,consultation, time and headaches that will cause.

    Here's just one simplistic hypothetical; if the UK decides for instance that your company must now employ at least 60% British people (or limit net migration from EU countries to force you into such a position because you cannot find the workforce locally) you might go out of business or have to lower your profit margin expectations which in turn will make you wish to close down.

    The Brexit the UK seems to be heading towards is not the Brexit everyone wanted. It's now almost certainly going out of the single European market and ending free movement.

    Like so many you did not think far enough along the path before you called BS and used words like "stupid".

    Brexit is an unknown. Some people hope for the best believing it will be for the best but they do not know. 52% have put the other 48% in it for an unknown. -not even knowing the odds.

    You wanna know what's stupid? -that 13 people can force 12 others into this mess. That's stupid.
    (13 to 12 is the ratio people that wanted to leave against the ones wanted to remain)

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
  2. Re: I call BS by Freischutz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not really, it may have been meant to service Western Europe and once you aren't part of the EU some businesses may not be able to store data there. Typical head in the sand brexiter, it's ok to think the UK will be better off outside the EU but you shouldn't pretend there won't be negative aspects.

    If you had spent any time engaging with Brexiteers you would know that the way to think of this is pretty simple: Brexit always right, EU always wrong. If the UK does what it thinks is best for the UK and crawls out from under the iron boot heel of EU tyranny that's laudable. If however the EU decides that it is going to do what is best for the EU and does not give the UK everything the UK wants that's the EU unfairly punishing the UK. If a company leaves the UK for the EU that's tantamount to treason even if said company is not a UK business and set up shop in the UK in the first place because the UK was part of the EU common market. However, now that the UK will be leaving the EU said company either has to move operations into the EU common market or stay in the UK and have a hard time competing with competitors that are inside the common market and do not have to wade through red tape and pay import tariffs after hard Brexit where the UK looks set to revert to WTO rules.

  3. Re: I call BS by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1, Interesting

    If the UK does what it thinks is best for the UK

    It's actually worse than that. It's more like "if England does what it thinks is best for the UK", because you have to ignore the wishes of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar if you want a hard Brexit with an intact United Kingdom.

    I'm really hoping the EU's plan to offer associate membership for individual citizens comes through. The government will naturally oppose it, but it might be a way for Soctland and Northern Ireland and Gibraltar to remain inside the EU and/or single market, while also providing an escape route for the people who don't want the UK deal.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  4. Re:I call BS by GeekWithAKnife · · Score: 4, Interesting


    No. Unequivocally and absolutely not. You have no idea how I voted.

    If I had 25 kids and 13 wanted to go live in France and 12 did not then we'd not go anywhere.

    Most democracies would give need a large majority to force a minority. Say 60% of the votes, sometimes more. A clear and reasonably wide enough majority.

    For such a critical decision I think, in fairness, two thirds of voters would need to decided to go one way or another. I could not in good conscious force practically the other half of people my choice or way of life.

    But you see the idea of taking 12 unwilling kids to France is FAR BETTER. Why? because France is a known quantity. Leaving the EU is not.

    Thank fuck parliament gets to vote if article 50 is triggered AND the final deal once decided. At lease we'll know if "France" is really some dictatorship banana republic.

    --
    A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.