The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, have defined a collaboration framework regarding the application of Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration and the reinforcement of national cybersecurity. Microsoft plans to quadruple its 2023 investments in Spain, reaching $2.1 billion by the end of 2025.
As part of Microsoft’s commitment to promoting digital innovation and the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that benefits companies and Spanish public administrations, the company plans to quadruple its investments in Artificial Intelligence infrastructure and Cloud in Spain during 2024-2025, until reaching 2.1 billion dollars. This represents Microsoft’s largest investment in Spain in its 37 years of presence in the country.
Microsoft will soon open a Data Center Cloud Region located in the Community of Madrid, and has announced its intention to build a Data Center Campus in Aragón that will provide service to European companies and public entities. These two infrastructures will provide Microsoft cloud services with the maximum guarantees of security, privacy and data sovereignty, and will make it possible to make the entire range of solutions available to Spanish and European companies and public administrations. of Artificial Intelligence of the company. Microsoft Data Centers in Spain could add 8.4 billion euros to the national GDP and contribute to the creation of 69,000 jobs in the period 2026 – 2030, according to an IDC analysis.
This investment commitment falls within the collaboration framework established today by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Microsoft, Brad Smith. Microsoft and the Government of Spain will work together on the application of Responsible Artificial Intelligence to improve citizen services, promote innovation based on AI, as well as reinforce national cybersecurity and cyber-resilience of Spanish companies, public organizations and critical infrastructures.
The collaboration is established within the framework of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the National Cybersecurity Strategy defined by the Government of Spain, and is articulated around four lines of action:
Extension of the use of Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration. With the aim of modernizing administrative processes and providing officials with the necessary AI tools to increase their efficiency and effectiveness, good practices will be shared, both for the deployment of Generative Artificial Intelligence solutions in Public Administration, as well as for training plans in Artificial Intelligence for civil servants, aligned with the strategic cases of use of AI for specific roles defined by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service.
Promotion of the use of Responsible AI. Microsoft will share its Responsible AI design standards, as well as implementation guides and additional documentation on best practices in this area, with the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA).
Reinforcement of national cybersecurity. In order to strengthen national cybersecurity and, specifically, the cyber-resilience of critical infrastructures, Microsoft and the National Cryptological Center of the National Intelligence Center (CNI-CCN) will jointly explore the improvement of early warning mechanisms and response to computer security incidents in public administrations.
Improving the cyber-resilience of companies. With the aim of improving the security of Spanish companies and, especially, SMEs, Microsoft will collaborate with the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), offering access to telemetry and global information on potential threats and cyberattacks that may affect to Spanish companies and public administrations. Likewise, joint dissemination actions will be established in the field of cybersecurity, aimed at SMEs and citizens.