Finland cashes in on cold by luring data storage firms

With freezing winters where the mercury can sink well below zero and cool summers, Finland will never be a destination of choice for the world's sun-seekers. But its chilly weather has attracted technology giants such as Google and Microsoft that seek a cool haven for thousands of servers holding terabytes of data from around the world. ‘In Finland we are excited that we can finally turn (our) cold climate and uneventful boring society into a competitive advantage,’ said tech-industry writer Petteri Jaervinen. Microsoft followed suit late last year with a $250-million project to build a data centre in northern Finland. Microsoft also bought the handset unit of Finnish mobile telephone maker Nokia, but said Thursday it will slash 18,000 jobs from its global workforce, most of which are at Nokia. Now, Helsinki hopes a new 1,000 kilometre (620 mile) fibre-optic cable beneath the Baltic Sea will give it an extra edge in the global data race -- and a much-needed shot in the arm for its flagging economy, according to AFP.