Murphy's Law Newsletter

Microsoft has announced plans to open a new data center in Douglas County. This great news for the area secures Atlanta’s role in the tech giant’s East Coast hub.

Microsoft (based in Redmond, Washington) is joining around 50 other data centers in Douglasville, alongside other major names in tech. They are clustered on the east side of the county in an area known as “Data Hill”. Businesses in Douglas County already include Google, Switch, PWC, Stack, T5 and Digital Realty. In addition to this data center, Microsoft will open a second site in Palmetto, Fulton County.

Douglasville Mayor Rochelle Robinson said in a statement, “We’re honored to have Microsoft in Douglasville,” She continued, “Today marks another major milestone in both the city and Douglas County’s economic growth, building on years of strategic planning and infrastructure investment… Microsoft’s presence helps cement our position as a center for information technology in the U.S., which has been an ongoing strategy goal.”

The development is excellent news for Douglasville, bringing jobs in IT operations, electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as facility security and maintenance.

“It is important to us that Microsoft is also in the region as a community partner,” Robinson said. Microsoft President Brad Smith told WABE that 25% of the 90-acre development Microsoft planning at Quarry Yards and Quarry Hills will be dedicated to the community. This is a valuable contribution to Atlanta’s Westside.

Microsoft also plans to complete construction on new offices in Atlantic Yards by 2021.

“These are all significant investments and put Atlanta on the path toward becoming one of Microsoft’s largest hubs in the United States in the coming decade, after Puget Sound and Silicon Valley,” Smith said in a statement.