The first Oracle cloud in France is hosted in Marseille!

Oracle, a preeminent digital player, was won over by Interxion's hosting offer and the region's strategic location

The American data giant Oracle, a cloud solutions provider, chose Interxion Digital Realty Marseille for its first investment in France. Hosted in the MRS2 data center, the Oracle cloud had its ribbon cutting ceremony on November 8. The crowed included its French staff and representatives from the City of Marseille, the Metropolis and Provence Promotion, which awarded the "Invest in Provence" label to Karine Picard, Director of the French division of Oracle. This major investment further strengthens the global reach of the Marseille digital hub.

Oracle selected Marseille to open its first French data center and third in Europe after Frankfurt and Amsterdam. The Oracle cloud, which was officially launched on November 8 at the water's edge in the commercial port ‒ just a few meters from the headends of the submarine communication cables ‒ provides 50% more cloud plus the ability to offer a sovereign cloud for governments and public utilities on French soil. Whether operators, companies or content providers, Oracle's clients can access North Africa, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East via Marseille.

"We had sovereignty demands and Interxion met our criteria in terms of security, innovation and energy efficiency", noted Karine Picard. The energetic Director of the French division of Oracle was presented with the "Invest in Provence" label by Jean-Luc Chauvin, President of the CCIAMP and Vice-President of Provence Promotion, at the grand opening celebration on the Interxion rooftop."I am extremely proud of Oracle's decision to host its cloud services in Marseille", said Fabrice Coquio, President of Interxion France.

A request for proposals for local roots

The river cooling installations, which have been in service since September, particularly appealed to the American group during the RFP process. While the request for proposals only lasted a few months, the Provence Promotion teams had been cultivating its relationship with the headquarters in Santa Clara and Digital Realty since 2017. Today, Oracle's cloud spans several thousand square meters within the MRS2 lair. Oracle employs around 100 people at its offices in Aix, Marseille and Nice. "Our cloud will help attract local companies, start-ups and administrations to Marseille. With French Tech, we are working together to develop the ecosystem", stressed Karine Picard.

A free cloud for start-ups

Start-ups can use the Oracle cloud for free thanks to the "Always Free" program, or join the Oracle for Startups program to take advantage of preferential rates and personalized support. Karine Picard explained that Oracle is also a member of Tech for Good and a partner of the P-Tech program in conjunction with the Ministry of National Education.

The Lyon-born forty-something who works in Paris is delighted with the counterweight exerted by Marseille and Lyon vis-à-vis the capital city. "I enjoy coming to Marseille, going to the Ile du Frioul, walking through the sunny streets. When I arrive from Paris, I rediscover the openness of this metropolitan area. It reveals itself and its business appeal is exploding", she observed.

The Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis is home to 9,000 companies working in digital technology that provide 45,000 jobs and generate combined total sales of more than €10 billion.