That's not saying much, everything is relative. If the man in Belarus decided to step down and have "free and fair" elections tommorrow it would be the farthest it has been to Russia in quite some time. But you wouldn't rush to put a tech hub there.
Has Serbian infrastructure been tested by a sustained Russian cyberattack like some other Easter European countries? That's what would matter at the end of the day.
Have you spent any time in Belgrade? Because if you did, I think you'd find these kinds of comments nonsensical at best.
And no, Serbia is in no way comparable to Belarus. Serbians have cultural and historical reasons for feeling close to Russia, but as I said, this is absolutely at a low tide. This is not "relative" to Belarus, which is extremely tied to Russia geopolitically. Entirely different situations.
Yes I have. My point has nothing to do with culture or where it stands now relative to its past. It is a basic question that is important for a tech company that wants to be based in Serbia: Has Serbian infrastructure been tested by a sustained Russian cyberattack? You could have simply answered that question.
Nowhere in the post do they say anything about infrastructure. Nor are they going to be "based" there. They are opening an in-person community hub for their customers and employees. I imagine their infrastructure, like most other large tech companies, is distributed around the world.
You're stubbornly refusing to read comments in good faith and preferring to nitpick things that don't affect the general point and avoiding to answer a relevant question.
At the end of the day, both being based there and creating a hub require significant investment by the tech company. I'm trying to assess whether they made a forward-looking decision or a hasty one. The stability and robustness of Serbian infrastructure would be one important criteria for me when considering whether to create a hub there or not. Them not mentioning it in their post does not protect them from its effects or shortcomings in the future.
I have no idea what point you're trying to make. They obviously chose Belgrade because it's a cool city and because one of the founders is apparently from there. It's a community hub, not a infrastructure site. My guess is that they're spending a few thousand dollars on rent, and that's about it. Full stop. Your comment chain is not engaging with the actual post in good faith, at all.
> Serbia: Has Serbian infrastructure been tested by a sustained Russian cyberattack?
There is Microsoft software development center in Belgrade (for 25 years). I heard they moved Azure development team to Belgrade Hub recently. Does that answer your question?
It's not nothing, thanks for the constructive comment.
Microsoft is pretty much a US asset defended by the US government at this point, so their risk profile would be quite different than a much smaller tech company. I doubt they were depending on getting the 400 mil financial commitment they made to Ukraine any time soon a few years back, for example. That and many actions seem to be done in support of US foreign policy so they can retain the preference of the US government (ie other contracts etc) in the long term, as opposed to a normal tech investment decision.
But like I said, it's not nothing. As a smaller tech company if Microsoft steps in when the shit hits the fan and aids in keeping Serbian cyber infrastructure running smoothly, as a smaller tech company you would indirectly benefit.
Has Serbian infrastructure been tested by a sustained Russian cyberattack like some other Easter European countries? That's what would matter at the end of the day.