# Microsoft — Responsible infrastructure at hyperscale: Managing the full lifecycle of Azure hardware

- Company: Microsoft (microsoft.com)
- Announced: 2026-09-30T15:00:00+00:00
- Category: not stated
- Coverage: not counted
- Announcement: no
- Group: routine
- Source: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/responsible-infrastructure-at-hyperscale-managing-the-full-lifecycle-of-azure-hardware/
- Record: https://forck.live/items/15568-responsible-infrastructure-at-hyperscale-managing-the-full-lifecycle-of-azure
- Subject: Azure AI

Microsoft describes its approach to managing the full lifecycle of Azure hardware, including design, operation, and decommissioning. The company reports a 92% reuse and recycling rate for decommissioned servers and components, and it has expanded its Circular Centers network to eight facilities across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, with a new center planned for San Antonio, Texas. The post also notes that since 2014, cores per rack have increased approximately 13-fold while the power required for the same task has decreased by roughly 90%.

## Evidence

Verbatim from https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/responsible-infrastructure-at-hyperscale-managing-the-full-lifecycle-of-azure-hardware/:

> Last year, Microsoft achieved a 92% reuse and recycling rate for decommissioned servers and components. However, at the scale we operate, retiring a server is a little more complex than simply sorting components into the correct recycling bin.

---

Record: https://forck.live/items/15568-responsible-infrastructure-at-hyperscale-managing-the-full-lifecycle-of-azure
Catalogue: https://forck.live/llms.txt
Current issue: https://forck.live/feed.md