Infonuagique: Montreal becomes the seventh “region” of Google

Google has chosen Montreal to host its new data center, an infrastructure that will allow businesses and users to enjoy significantly increased speeds.

The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon in San Francisco. The Québec metropolis, which was already home to Chrome’s security activities and a deep learning research center, became the seventh “region” of Google’s cloud computing platform.

“For me it is an honor to the great talent we find in Quebec, we can be proud,” said in an interview with La Presse Marie-Josée Lamothe, CEO of brand strategies and responsible Quebec operations Google.

However, no details are available on the size of the installations that Google will implement in Montréal, whether in terms of investment, space or jobs created. The precise date of the opening of this infrastructure was not disclosed either.

“Not every day”

Google’s cloud structure is currently divided into six regions, with three centers in the United States, one in Belgium, Japan and Taiwan. The network is further divided into 18 zones and 100 points of presence, a decentralized structure that allows Google to ensure maximum connection speeds and data redundancy.

Announcing a seventh region, “This is a huge news for Google, we do not do that every day,” says Ms. Lamothe. Certainly our Canadian customers – and their own users – will benefit from better speed and flexibility. ”

Is the choice of opening a center here linked to the preference of some companies to host their data within Canada’s borders? “It’s clear they’re going to benefit, and we’re delighted, but that’s not our primary goal,” says the CEO. The first reason is really a question of talent: Montreal is a real hub, which Google put on a lot. ”

The specificity of this seventh “region” of Montreal, which distinguishes it from other regions, will be automatic learning, according to Google.

The Director General recalls that Montréal is already one of the three global poles that ensures the security of Google’s browser, Chrome. Last November, a grant of $ 4.5 million was announced for university research and a specialized division for deep learning was established. “This announcement is a continuation of all the investments we make in Montreal, which allows us to stimulate the talent that exists in Quebec and in which we believe a lot.”