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Microsoft and Amazon are opening their own UK-based datacentres to offer cloud services in this region.
Amazon Web Services made its announcement a few days ago, while Microsoft announced its offering at its Future Decoded event in London today (Tuesday November 10th).
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed the plans, which will see Microsoft Azure and Office 365 generally available from local UK-based data centres in late 2016, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online following shortly thereafter.
Microsoft also announced completion of the latest phase of expansion for its data centre facilities in Ireland and the Netherlands, both of which serve as cloud computing hubs for European customers.
“At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Nadella. “By expanding our data centre regions in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland we aim to give local businesses and organisations of all sizes the transformative technology they need to seize new global growth.”
The new local Microsoft cloud regions will enable data residency for customers in the UK, allowing data to be replicated within the UK for backup and recovery, reduced network distance and lower latency.
"Services delivered from these UK data centres will create new opportunities for innovation and local economic growth for Microsoft UK’s 25,000-plus partners," said Microsoft in a statement.
“With a cloud adoption rate of 84 per cent, the UK is a global leader in embracing the benefits of cloud-based solutions. Our commitment to offer Microsoft Azure, Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365 from local data centres will help meet such demand, especially for those organisations looking for solutions delivered from data centres based in the UK,” added Michel Van der Bel, area vice president and general manager of Microsoft UK.
“This will open opportunity for customers and partners alike to innovate, compete and grow their business using the power of the cloud while adhering to strict standards and regulations like those found in banking, financial services and the public sector.”
Microsoft has invested more than $15 billion in building cloud infrastructure and cloud services. It has 24 Azure regions around the world.
