Microsoft intends to extend the boundaries of its cloud infrastructure services into the Asian region, which would be launched in India and Taiwan as early as 2026. As for the global technological behemoth’s strategy, it would include the opening of the “Southeast Asia 3” region, which would be located in the state of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. This would be the second region the company would establish there.
Growing demand for cloud services drives Asian expansion
At present, Microsoft’s infrastructure network in the Asian region consists of twelve operational datacenter regions, making it one of the major players during the region’s digital shift. This rollout plan focuses on key markets, which are experiencing an increasing demand for low-latency connectivity as well as data residency. This development would create some of the most essential data centers for Microsoft.
Today, the outlook and capabilities of the company’s global infrastructure, which already covers more than 70 datacenter regions and 33 global nations, are incomparable to other cloud services. In the Asian markets, the integration and development process of the economy plays an important role, and the regulatory environment keeps changing. This model of Microsoft helps clients conduct their operations with confidence without sacrificing speed and performance delivery.
South-Central India focuses on the Hyderabad market
Microsoft’s new India South Central region, which would be based out of Hyderabad, would be an aspect of the overall massive investment of $3 billion that would be going into the cloud and AI infrastructure of India over the next two years. Microsoft’s new presence would join a series of already existing facilities based in India and would enhance the capacity of the software giant to address the entire subcontinent.
Taiwan’s North region offers Microsoft 365 data residency
The Taiwan North cloud environment has already launched Microsoft 365 products and their respective data residency solutions for commercial users, and the services for Azure are available for selected clients. General availability of the services for the entire community of Azure users will follow in 2026. The various cloud services are expected to help the cloud-driven economy of Taiwan.
Microsoft’s Taiwan offering meets the growing needs of organizations that are demanding sovereign cloud services that are aligned with data governance regulations. The new region would provide AI-ready hyperscale infrastructure that supports advanced workloads and emerging needs. In fact, the location of Taiwan makes it an optimum solution for the entire East Asia region, which can enjoy low-latency connectivity.
Key regional developments:
- India South Central – Hyderabad-based region launching in 2026
- Taiwan North – Microsoft 365 live, Azure GA expected 2026
- Southeast Asia 3 – The Second Malaysia region in Johor Bahru
- Indonesia Central – Recently launched, becoming the largest Asian region
- Malaysia West – First Malaysian region supporting digital transformation
Capacity remains constrained despite huge investments in infrastructure
Even as Microsoft pursues an aggressive growth strategy, capacity shortages are likely to persist well into 2026, especially in high-demand geographic areas such as the US. According to Bloomberg, internal projections suggest that Microsoft intends to limit new sign-ups for Azure services in some capacity-constrained markets during the first six months of the coming year. This state of affairs is not surprising, given the unprecedented interest in AI-driven cloud services that arose after the introduction of ChatGPT.
Microsoft’s plan for the growth and development of Asia positions the corporation for effective engagement and participation in the technological revolution occurring in the region. The investments that total multiple billion dollars in India, Taiwan, and Malaysia are clear indicators that the corporation is committed to doing business in the Asian markets through the offering of Asia-hosted, AI-ready infrastructure. This means that the organizations based in Asia will enjoy the most advanced cloud services without the constraint of high latency.
