Microsoft's Taiwan cloud region is up and running but still limited to selected customers, a modest positive for local businesses waiting on nearby cloud capacity.

• The Taiwan North data center region is live, hosting Microsoft's own services and a handful of early customers in finance, manufacturing and healthcare.
• It does not yet match the range of services offered in Japan, Singapore or Malaysia, and there is no date for opening it to everyone.
• Power is the main limit on how fast it grows, though Microsoft says Taiwan can supply enough electricity and is signing long-term deals with local utilities.
• Earthquakes, typhoons and tension with China are built into the design, with backup power, multiple network routes and an option to keep systems running on-site if the connection to the outside is cut.
• Taiwan is also central to the hardware itself: Microsoft's Maia 200 AI chip is made on TSMC's 3-nanometer process, and local engineers help design the systems around it.

Outlook: Expect the Taiwan region to widen gradually as power and capacity allow, with no timetable for full public availability.