Oslo, Norway, Oct 11, 2022 — Today, Google Cloud announced that it is bringing its first cloud region to Norway to support the country’s sustainable digitization and meet growing demand for cloud services locally and around the world. The new cloud region will help bring innovations from across Google closer to our local customers and provide them with a platform that enables organizations to operate in a more resource efficient way.

The Norway cloud region will give local businesses the choice to keep their data onshore, retain data sovereignty and drive their digital transformation efforts locally with speed, security and sustainability at the core. Like all our cloud regions, the Norway region will be matched by 100% renewable energy annually and in accordance with Google’s global commitment, aim to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, thus providing local customers with clean, sustainable infrastructure to power their businesses and technology.

“When launched, the Norway cloud region will deliver high-performance and low-latency services to local organizations which will enable them to maintain the highest security, data residency, and compliance standards. We look forward to working with customers to ensure the Norway cloud region fits their unique needs, together creating new opportunities for sustainable innovation and growth,” said Kjell Arne Yttervik, Country Manager, Norway, Google Cloud.

With 35 regions and 106 zones currently in operation around the world, Google Cloud’s global network of cloud regions is the foundation of the infrastructure it is building to support customers of all sizes and across industries. From retail and media & entertainment to financial services, healthcare and the public sector, leading organizations come to Google Cloud as their trusted innovation partner to address five key areas:

• Understanding and using data: Google Cloud helps customers become smarter and make better decisions with a unified data platform. We help customers reduce complexity and combine unstructured and structured data — wherever it resides — to quickly and easily produce valuable insights.
• Establishing an open foundation for growth: When customers move to Google Cloud, they get a flexible, secure and open platform that evolves with their organization. Our commitment to multicloud, hybrid cloud, and open source offers organizations the freedom of choice, allowing their developers to build faster and more intuitively.
• Creating a collaborative environment: In today’s hybrid work environment, Google Cloud provides the tools needed to transform how people connect, create, and collaborate.
• Securing systems and users: As every company rethinks its security posture, we help customers protect their data using the same infrastructure and security services that Google uses for its own operations.
• Building a cleaner, more sustainable future: Google has been carbon neutral since 2007, and we are working toward an ambitious goal to operate entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030. Today, when customers run on Google Cloud — the cleanest cloud in the industry — their workloads are already matched with 100% renewable energy. We help customers decarbonize their applications and infrastructure with technologies like Carbon Footprint and Active Assist.

“This announcement  is a key example of Google’s growing investment in Norway and reinforces our commitment to supporting sustainable digitization across the region,” commented Tine Austvoll Jensen, Country Director, Google. “Bringing a new cloud region to Norway shows Google’s increasing investment and will allow us to partner more deeply with local businesses, to deliver on our unique ability to bring enterprise and consumer ecosystems closer together - across Search, YouTube, Cloud - to deliver more powerful customer experiences, quickly and securely.”

Google Cloud regions such as the one coming to Norway and others already in place around the world, provide storage and services for Google Cloud customers that range from small, medium and large businesses to public sector entities and other organizations that want to leverage cloud services. Each Google Cloud region brings high-performance, low-latency services and products to local and multinational organizations alike. Meanwhile, Google data centers process requests for all of Google’s services (such as YouTube, Search, Gmail and Google Docs). Further details, including where the Norway cloud region will be located, will be determined in the months ahead.

What our customers have to say
“Telenor empowers societies through digitalization, creating value for customers by connecting people to what matters most. Our ambition is to work with tech industry leaders and stay at the forefront of modernization and digitalization, and in this, Google Cloud is a strategic partner to Telenor. We are digitalizing our operations on Google Cloud’s global infrastructure in the field of Data & Analytics, ML & AI, infrastructure & services. The scale, breadth, reliability, and security of Google Cloud’s platform ensure we can fundamentally change how we operate and do business - and drive operational efficiencies and new services adaptation and growth in a sustainable way. We are excited to participate in Google Cloud’s regional expansions into Scandinavia with our assets and local competencies, and looking forward to creating new opportunities for our customers,” said Vladimir Radojicic, SVP, Infrastructure and Partnerships, Telenor Group.

“The transition to carbon neutrality demands digitization of the energy system. Old and new actors in the energy space need the ability to operate together through real time data and shared analytics. Flexible and scalable solutions in the public cloud are decisive to solve the challenge. At the same time, it is more important than ever to locally protect critical infrastructure. A new Google Cloud region in Norway gives us the opportunity to solve both challenges. It is great news for the energy system of tomorrow,” said Jon Andreas, Pretorius, CIO, Elvia.

“The new Google Cloud region will help solve our need for digital sovereignty and enable more opportunities as we continue to move more of our applications to the cloud. With this announcement, Google Cloud will enable more choice in accessing capabilities from the local cloud region while aiding our journey to hybrid and multicloud environments. Also, Google investing in Norway means more jobs, which in turn supports NAV’s mission of having more people in active work,” said Vegard Storstad, CIO, NAV.

“Official statistics are a nation’s common factual basis and are essential for any living democracy. As Norway’s data wealth continues to grow exponentially, it is more essential than ever that we have a highly secure and scalable platform as a foundation for our work, so that our citizens can debate, plan, and make decisions based on reliable statistical data,” explained Erik Leirstrand Øvrum, Head of Division for Software Development, SSB. “Google Cloud has demonstrated its ability to provide  the security, privacy, and scalability we require to protect our data in the cloud. Being able to store and process data on our sovereign ground is something we see as a great opportunity, and we are pleased to learn about Google Cloud’s plan to establish a cloud region in Norway.”

“As the 2021 Google Cloud Global Services Partner of the Year, we look forward to teaming with Google in the new cloud region in Norway to deliver even greater value for our joint clients. Norwegian businesses are reinventing their futures across the cloud continuum; and there is a growing demand for data sovereignty in a fast and secure framework, which this new cloud region will help enable. The combination of Google’s innovation with Accenture’s delivery and industry expertise makes it possible to accelerate transformation at scale, while building a cloud-first infrastructure that meets our clients’ sustainability goals,” said Mattias Lewrén, Nordic Cloud First Lead, Accenture.

“We have been working as a Google Cloud partner for more than 5 years now and have experienced the impact and value that Google Cloud’s world-class technology brings to customers. The announcement of a new cloud region is an important milestone that will make this technology more widely available for customers, especially in the Norwegian public sector. Having a cloud region in Norway will be hugely beneficial for both Norwegian businesses and society,” commented Trond Eilertsen, CEO, Computas.

"We are facing uncertain times. Now, more than ever before, the cloud industry needs to step up to protect our democratic values. Google Cloud and Tietoevry will join efforts to scale data innovation and digital resiliency across all Nordic countries and in Norway. We’re excited to be able to advise our customers and citizens on the right cloud journey,” said Evi Seljevoll, Country Manager, Tietoevry Connect Norway.

About Google Cloud
Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology — all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.