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De Cronos Groep has signed a new multi-year contract with Microsoft for the use of Microsoft Azure for its clients. Microsoft uses Azure to make cloud and IT infrastructure services available to organizations and their employees. Microsoft says this new agreement with De Cronos Groep is ‘the biggest of its kind’. It strengthens the technology group’s position as cloud provider in Belgium and Luxembourg, and underlines its European ambitions. De Cronos Groep’s cloud services doubled in 2022, significantly contributing to its 20% overall revenue growth.
Microsoft and De Cronos Groep expect this exponential growth of cloud services to continue over the coming years. Dirk Deroost, co-founder and co-CEO of De Cronos Groep:
“The success of our previous agreement confirmed that our decision to invest in the cloud is the right one. It is the present and also the future of new applications, data and IT management. With this new long-term collaboration, we’re again investing in both technology and knowledge. Customers can count on us throughout the entire process from migration to maintenance and management of their cloud environment.”
Dirk Deroost, co-founder and co-CEO of De Cronos Groep
Emphasis on cybersecurity
At the same time, De Cronos Groep is strongly committed to data security. “Belgian and European organizations are increasingly seeing the importance of a comprehensive security policy, and the cloud increases protection against external threats. Our group includes various specialist companies that support customers with their data security in a cloud environment,” explains Deroost.
De Cronos Groep now has 9,000 employees, including more than 1,400 Microsoft Cloud experts – an increase in line with the recent revenue growth. To sustain this growth, the group is also focusing strongly on training with its cloud academy, MiCA.
Strong Microsoft expertise
“This agreement underlines the importance of Microsoft’s ‘Digital AmBEtion’ investment program, including with the building of a new ‘data center region’ in Belgium. De Cronos Groep and Microsoft have joined forces to help businesses quickly harness the benefits of cloud and prepare for a digital future.”
Erik Kerkhofs, Commercial Partner Lead, Microsoft BeLux
The scope of the ‘Multi-Year Data Center Optimization Agreement’ also immediately puts De Cronos Groep, Microsoft’s current partner of the year in Belgium and Luxembourg, among the very top of Microsoft’s European partners.
About De Cronos Groep
A network of innovative companies in technology, marketing and communication together forms De Cronos Groep. The group companies are all leaders in their market sector, often with the very latest technologies and prototypes. The group actively fosters entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship to shape this innovation strategy. De Cronos Groep’s mission is to give talented individuals opportunities and allow them to grow in their career with the possibility of being self-employed.
The Belgian group has 9,000 employees and 5,000 customers in the Benelux region. The company has enjoyed sustainable growth over a quarter of a century, and last year achieved a consolidated annual turnover of €1.1 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Kontich (Antwerp), the group also has important clusters in Ghent, Leuven, Mechelen, Kortrijk, Amsterdam and Breda. You can find more information at https://cronos-groep.be/en/.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of the intelligent cloud within an intelligent ecosystem. Microsoft wants to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Further, Microsoft employs more than 350 people in Belgium and Luxembourg, with a powerful network of over 4,000 partners. Together, Microsoft BeLux builds solutions for companies of all sizes, government agencies and NGOs. Microsoft BeLux aims to guide its customers towards a digital society by addressing the challenges posed and seizing the opportunities presented.
Read more
Interested in reading more about this new partner deal between De Cronos Groep and Microsoft? Read the full articles by De Tijd and L’Echo.
