Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) have entered into a strategic partnership agreement, the companies announced on June 20.

As part of the agreement, Equinor will provide industry knowledge and business needs to support Microsoft in developing new solutions for our industry. Microsoft will provide expertise to accelerate Equinor’s IT development and establish new data center regions in Stavanger and in Oslo.

The partnership with Microsoft enables Equinor to shape and accelerate the development of fit for purpose IT services for the energy industry, and secure a faster transition to the cloud. Leveraging the cloud is a prerequisite for the energy industry’s transformation towards a digital future. Secure, reliable and cost-efficient operations are a requirement for Equinor’s adoption of the cloud.

“The rapid technology development creates new opportunities and the partnership enables our digital journey to deliver more safe, secure and efficient operations. Equinor’s ambition is to become a global digital leader within our industry, and a cloud data center in Norway will simplify and accelerate Equinor’s adoption of the cloud,” Åshild Hanne Larsen, Equinor’s chief information officer, said.

The strategic partnership is a seven-year consumption and development agreement in the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD), according to Equinor. The agreement will be a platform to identify innovative solutions for the energy industry and further capitalize on common business opportunities. Equinor and Microsoft will secure the desired outcome by committing key industry and technology expertise.

The development of new cloud infrastructure in Norway will support economic development by enabling companies and industries to realize the benefits of the cloud, such as in-country residency.

Cloud services from Microsoft’s new data-center locations are planned to come into operations with initial availability of Azure services in late 2019.

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