Azure Austria East – Microsoft's new cloud region for Austria
- Andreas Fritz
- 12.08.2025
- Praxis-Stories
Get started with Azure Austria now
Azure Austria East – the new Microsoft Azure region is here! The region is now visible in the Azure portal, and initial resources have already been successfully deployed in Austria. This marks a major step for digital solutions based in Austria: For the first time, cloud hosting in Austria is possible via Microsoft Azure, which is a milestone especially for domestic organizations. Microsoft announced this local cloud region back in 2020; in 2025 it becomes a reality, paving the way for new innovative applications and greater trust in cloud solutions.
The Azure region "Austria East" was officially launched at the end of June 2025; starting in August 2025, businesses and public administration can run their workloads in Microsoft’s data centers in Vienna.
Microsoft Austria describes the new region as a secure and sustainable digital infrastructure hub in Austria. For users, this means that services now run locally in Austria, with all the advantages regarding latency, data sovereignty, and compliance.
Table of Contents
Technical advantages of the Azure Region Austria East
Azure Austria East offers a range of technical advantages that are particularly crucial for demanding applications and sensitive data:
Lower latency and faster performance
A data center in close proximity means significantly lower latency for users in Austria and surrounding regions. Data no longer has to take the detour via Western Europe (such as the Azure West Europe region in the Netherlands) but is processed directly within Austria. This can significantly improve application access times and responsiveness – interactive applications benefit from faster load times, and real-time services from more stable, low-latency connections. For applications such as video conferencing, e-commerce, or IoT sensors, every millisecond gained means a better user experience and higher productivity.
GDPR-compliant data storage in Austria
With the new region, GDPR-compliant cloud data storage is easier than ever: All data stored in Austria East physically remains in Austria. Companies retain full control over their sensitive information, as no data needs to be transferred abroad for storage. This not only meets the strict requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) but also simplifies compliance with other regulatory requirements. Microsoft emphasizes that customers can store their data locally and in compliance with data protection regulations while benefiting from the scalability of the global cloud – without noticeable performance trade-offs. A local cloud region also supports industries with special regulatory requirements, such as the financial and healthcare sectors or public authorities that require domestic data storage for certain applications.
Increased security and availability
Azure Austria East initially includes three data center locations in the greater Vienna area, which function as availability zones. This architecture allows critical applications to be designed for high availability: even if one site fails, the other zones take over operations, ensuring fault tolerance. For companies, this means a more robust infrastructure for business-critical systems.
Additionally, customers benefit from Microsoft Cloud’s state-of-the-art security standards. The local data centers are monitored and strictly secured around the clock – both physically and digitally. Microsoft itself describes the new region as "secure and sustainable digital infrastructure directly in Austria". Companies can therefore trust that their workloads in Austria East are protected according to the "Security by Design" principle.
Business benefits for Austrian companies
Not only technically, but also from a business perspective, Azure Austria East brings significant benefits for Austrian companies and organizations.
More trust and acceptance
Many companies and public authorities have so far been skeptical about cloud solutions, especially when foreign data centers were involved. The ability to run data and applications in the domestic Azure region builds trust in the cloud and increases acceptance among management and customers. Austrian companies can now clearly communicate to their clients that their data remains in Austria, which can be a competitive advantage, particularly in the B2B sector.
Meeting compliance requirements
The local Azure region makes it easier to meet industry-specific and legal requirements. Whether GDPR, the EU NIS2 directive, or national regulations – data storage and operation within Austria make audits and compliance verification simpler. Companies in regulated industries (banks, insurers, healthcare) can now advance cloud projects without having to set up complex foreign exceptions. First companies such as Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, the Umdasch Group, and Kapsch TrafficCom have already announced that they will immediately use the new infrastructure – a clear signal that Azure Austria East meets the needs of the economy.
Better performance and user experience
From an end-user perspective, lower latency and a local data location mean a faster, more stable user experience. Websites, portals, and digital services hosted in Austria respond faster for local users. This can lead to higher customer satisfaction and ultimately more business transactions – whether in e-commerce or digital government services. Employees also benefit from more performant cloud applications in their daily work, increasing productivity.
Innovation and competitiveness
The availability of a local Azure region lowers the entry barriers for forward-looking technologies. Companies can now implement AI or IoT solutions on Azure without concerns about data locality. According to a recent study, every step towards digitalization increases revenue by 8.3% – Azure Austria East can serve as a catalyst to accelerate such digital transformation. From startups to industrial corporations, the domestic cloud region boosts competitiveness, as innovative services can be introduced and scaled more quickly.
Azure portal: New resource group with region “Europe – Austria East” – now selectable.
Comparison with other Azure regions in Europe
In the European context, Azure Austria East joins an already dense network of Azure regions. Until now, many Austrian companies often used the West Europe (Amsterdam) or North Europe (Dublin) regions for their Azure services due to a lack of alternatives. Microsoft has since established its own cloud regions in numerous European countries to keep data as close to users as possible and to meet local compliance needs.
Azure Austria East is on par with established locations such as Germany or Switzerland. With state-of-the-art infrastructure and three availability zones, the Austrian region is technically on the same level as, for example, Azure Germany West Central (Frankfurt) or Switzerland North (Zurich). One difference is that Austria East currently has no direct paired regional partner for geo-redundancy within the country ("Austria West" does not yet exist). For backup or disaster recovery scenarios, Austrian users can still use nearby regions such as Germany West Central or North Europe until a potential second Austrian region is created in the future.
In terms of service availability, Azure Austria East launches with core cloud services (compute, storage, networking, databases, etc.), as is typical for new regions. Specialized services and newer Azure offerings will gradually be added over the coming months as they are approved for the location. Compared to older regions that already offer a broad range of services and availability zones, Austria East is expected to catch up quickly.
Future prospects and use cases
The opening of the Azure Region Austria East marks the starting point for new digital projects "made in Austria". In the coming years, we can expect to see increased migration of existing applications to the cloud, as data sovereignty is now ensured. Public authorities and sensitive sectors (such as e-government or critical infrastructure) will particularly benefit from the local cloud infrastructure, as they can use cloud services without sending data abroad.
Startups and SMEs can also now implement innovative business models requiring AI or IoT solutions directly in Austria. With minimal latency, smart factories, connected vehicles, or digital healthcare applications can be operated via the cloud. The domestic Azure region serves as a trusted platform that accelerates innovation.
Azure Austria East symbolizes Europe’s trend towards digital sovereignty. Microsoft has announced its intention to strengthen Europe’s digital resilience regardless of geopolitical developments. Part of this is the expansion of regional cloud capacities. For Austria, this specifically means: dependence on foreign data centers decreases while state-of-the-art technology is brought into the country. If demand continues to grow, Microsoft could even open a second region in the future – the name Austria East leaves room for speculation.
The new region is already acting as a catalyst. Across industries, companies are reassessing their cloud strategies and increasing their use of Azure services. The initial successful deployments mentioned at the beginning are just the start. With each new service made available in Austria East, the possible use cases grow: from highly available web portals to big data and AI-powered applications that securely process sensitive data in Austria. A study predicts that the widespread use of AI could increase Austria’s added value by up to 18% – cloud resources such as those now available locally are the prerequisite for this.
Conclusion
With Azure Austria East, Austria now has a powerful cloud location within its own borders. The combination of lower latency, GDPR-compliant data storage, and Microsoft’s global technology creates ideal conditions for the next generation of digital solutions. Companies of all sizes can now implement cloud projects that previously seemed unfeasible.
At Cyber-Solutions Software GmbH, we help companies run their web portals and digital services securely and future-proof in Azure – now also directly from Austria. We are happy to advise you on how to implement your cloud strategy.