Microsoft have become the first global cloud provider to offer cloud services from the UK.
Announced last November at Microsoft’s Future Decoded, the region fully meets Microsoft’s Trusted Cloud framework covering security, privacy, compliance and transparency. It’s the first complete cloud offering delivered from a global provider within the UK and means Azure and Office 365 are now generally available from new datacenter regions.
The move will help businesses in heavily regulated industries such as banking, government, public sector and healthcare meet their customer’s needs as well as the regulatory requirements they are held to, and the need for local data residency and replication for the business continuity.
With the availability of the new UK regions, Azure now offers customers 28 regions with six more coming soon for a total of 34, more than any other major cloud provider. In addition, Microsoft Cloud services have earned the broadest set of compliance certifications and attestations of any public cloud provider, including UK G-Cloud.
Microsoft has been keep to highlight high profile public sector customers moving to the Cloud in the UK including the South London & Maudsley NHS Trust, the country’s largest mental health trust, and the Ministry of Defence. The MoD, currently spending over £3 billion on its infrastructure every year, will use Office 365 and Azure, citing both value and security as key reasons to use the Microsoft Cloud.
Mike Stone, chief defence information officer at the Ministry of Defence, said: “Microsoft’s secure and transparent cloud service in the UK fits perfectly with the MOD’s digital transformation agenda. This agreement, which is based on Microsoft’s world-class reliability and performance, will allow us to deliver cost-effective, modern and flexible information capabilities. It will ensure we are better-placed in our ever-changing, digital-first world.”
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