Starting right now, you can access Microsoft Azure and Office 365 from UK based data centres. Dynamics CRM online is also scheduled to be added in early 2017.
Finally, the UK!
Since October 2014, Microsoft have rapidly expanded their global cloud presence and have opened numerous data centres. Regions have popped up in Japan, Australia, Canada, Ireland and now…the UK!
This rapid globalisation is part of Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella’s masterplan to encourage cloud adoption. When speaking about the UK based data centres at Future Decoded in November 2015 he said: “It really marks a huge milestone and a commitment on our part to make sure that we build the most hyperscale public cloud that operates around the world with more regions than anyone else”
It’s clear that the cloud isn’t going anywhere as a survey from Rightscale suggests that 95% of those surveyed are using a cloud based system.
Addressing low Latency
Latency is something that can be affected by the distance of something you’re connecting to. Previously, the nearest data centres for UK based customers are based in the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. With the two brand new datacentres in London and Durham, you’ll find accessing and using cloud applications such as Office 365 and Microsoft Azure faster and much more responsive.
Data laws and privacy concerns
Microsoft has campaigned extensively for privacy in the technology sector as evidenced by their early adoption of the ISO 27018. They became the first major cloud provider to adopt the standard along with endorsing and compliance with the new EU-US privacy shield with replaced the inadequate “Safe Harbour”.
But what does this new announcement have to do with the UK?
UK data residency means many public sector organisations (Local authorities, banking, healthcare) can now reap the benefits of Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools. Broadly speaking, it helps to effectively address the legal and compliance needs of customers in industries like these.
Still safe and secure
The data centres arriving in the UK were built using the most stringent of security procedures. The SLA remains the same, compliance with ISO 27018 remains the same and EU-US compliance remains the same too. The data centres continue to be built using the Microsoft Trusted Cloud principles of security, privacy, compliance, transparency and availability.
If you’re still a bit unsure about whether the cloud is for you or not, check out this video from Microsoft that’ll help to fill in some of the gaps. Or you can check out our cloud blog.
