Athens, February 3, 2020 – Today, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of State and Digital Governance, for the nation of Greece, and cloud computing pioneer, Amazon Web Services (AWS), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce a number of programs to the country to drive innovation across the economy. By cooperating in the areas of digital governance, digital infrastructure, and cloud skills education, this MoU provides the foundation on which to build a modern and digital Greece, powered by cloud computing. As part of the MoU, programs such as AWS Cloudstart will support the Greek Government in improving and modernizing its IT infrastructure in order to lower IT costs, increase innovation, and drive more efficiency within the public sector. In order to support the development of the next generation of cloud builders, the Government of Greece and AWS will empower higher education institutions with access to AWS Educate, a program to introduce students and educators to cloud computing technologies. In addition to supporting the next generation of IT and cloud professionals, the MoU will also support the burgeoning Greek startup community through the AWS Activate program, giving startups access to the resources they need to quickly launch and grow their businesses in the cloud – including AWS credits, training, and support.
The MoU is the latest step in AWS’s investment in Greece. Earlier this year, AWS launched an Edge location in Athens, bringing advanced technologies such as Amazon CloudFront, Lambda@Edge, AWS Shield, and AWS WAF to the country and connecting Greece to the AWS global infrastructure network, improving the secure delivery of content to customers in Greece by over 50%.
These investments were welcomed by the Greek government with Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of State and Digital Governance of Greece, saying, "Amazon Web Services investment in Greece marks the country's growing importance as a regional hub in the global technology market. The company's confidence underlines that Greece is open to new investments in technology and infrastructure as well as the importance of cloud computing in the country's digital transformation."
“For many years we have had a strong, dedicated, and growing community of customers in Greece, from startups, to enterprises, and the public sector, using AWS technologies to innovate for the benefit of the citizens of the country,” said Cameron Brooks, Director, Public Sector Europe at Amazon Web Services. “We thank the Government of Greece for their engagement with this Memorandum of Understanding and we look forward to working together on this next step in the digital development of the nation of Greece.”
