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<\/a>Simply put, they are the physical infrastructure behind cloud computing. And across Europe, Microsoft datacenters are operating around the clock to support a wide spectrum of critical services, from the life-saving work of doctors and first responders to essential services like groceries and online banking. At the same time, datacenters also empower everyday necessities like food deliveries, remote work and video calls to family<\/a>.<\/p>\nAs Europeans brace for the possibility of a wintertime energy crisis, market researchers and energy consultants are calling datacenters critical enablers of modern society \u2013 including how they foster hybrid work schedules that reduce travel and allow office buildings to use less heat and electricity.<\/p>\n
Despite the role datacenters play in so many aspects of people\u2019s lives, most people don\u2019t give them a second thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout datacenter infrastructure, which is the invisible infrastructure, will you still be able to do the things you need for working, resting and playing? Unless you\u2019re off grid, the answer is no, you\u2019re not going to be able to do any of those things,\u201d says Rahiel Nasir, an associate research director at the market research firm IDC. He is based in the U.K.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are critical to our modern society,\u201d adds Nasir, a member of IDC\u2019s European cloud and cloud data management research programs.<\/p>\n
Echoing those words, energy advisers Baringa<\/a> labeled datacenters as \u201cessential for modern society\u201d \u2013 the top finding of a July report<\/a> published by the U.K.-based consultancy.<\/p>\n From health care to grocery shopping, from online schools to online banking, it\u2019s difficult to think of many corners of life that aren\u2019t dependent on cloud services hosted in datacenters. Microsoft Azure<\/a> and Microsoft Teams<\/a> are products that rely on datacenters.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>In medicine, hundreds of hospitals and clinics in Europe rely on Azure\u2019s cloud capabilities to track patient records, schedule surgeries and engage with patients via telehealth systems. A German software company created an Azure-based solution that has helped more than 600 European health care facilities manage the work schedules of doctors, nurses and other staff.<\/p>\n