The implemented solution is the "Azure Stack Hub", a hybrid cloud that combines public cloud services with a private infrastructure, as the data is housed in Altice's Data Centre in Covilhã.

"This infrastructure allows, as of today (14 April), Altice Portugal's corporate clients to have access to a set of benefits that are recognised in the public cloud, but with the capacity to store, host and process data in Portugal," said the Chairman of Altice Portugal, Alexandre Fonseca, at the launching ceremony of the partnership, which took place at the Data Centre in Covilhã, in the Castelo Branco district.

Alexandre Fonseca stressed that this is "the first time that Microsoft's platform is brought to Portugal", highlighting that it is a "decisive step" for the "digital transformation" of the country and, "above all, of the Portuguese business fabric and economy".

"This launch makes clear here our conviction that this extension of the Azure Cloud to Portugal - bringing this platform to Portugal - is also a fundamental step for the business fabric," he said.

That responsible stressed that this solution reinforces the "leadership positioning" that Altice already has in the area of cloud computing and that it fits into the strategy of contributing to building "modernity, progress and the companies of the future".

"It is not about bringing technology for technology's sake, but about bringing innovation, modernity and everything that will certainly be the basis of successful businesses of the future," he said.

On the other hand, he recalled that the new bet combines three decisive advantages: "the agility of cloud computing, the quality and resilience of Microsoft and HPE solutions, and the safe and widely recognised environment of the Covilhã Data Centre".

Among the advantages, he also highlighted the "low latency", due to the local data processing, the possibility of private access, as well as the accumulated knowledge of the companies involved.

The director of Microsoft Portugal, Paula Panarra, said that this strategic and innovative partnership "complements the Azure services that are already available in Portugal, with the advantage that this solution is hybrid, allowing customers to access Azure services, but hosted in Portugal.

He added that the partnership allows taking the "services where customers need them most" and that it is another "innovative value proposition" to help the transformation of companies.

The director of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Portugal, Carlos Leite, classified the moment as very relevant, as it meets the concern of always better serving common customers and creating valuable and innovative answers for Portuguese companies.

"A hybrid cloud is the best of both worlds. It has the public cloud component - with flexibility, speed and pay-per-use - and it also has the private cloud component, with lower latency, better performance, greater security and data sovereignty," he said.

In addition to this moment, Altice also promoted a set of other initiatives linked to its strategy of proximity with the territory. In Covilhã, a reading booth was inaugurated in the city centre which, in partnership with Covilhã City Hall, will provide books to "take, donate, read and return".

In Proença-a-Nova, he inaugurated the Catraia Cimeira mobile antenna to reinforce the mobile network in that municipality in Castelo Branco district.

Tomar and Vila Nova da Barquinha were scheduled to sign protocols of investment in new generation fibre optics by Altice Portugal in those two Ribatejo municipalities.