In a world that is becoming increasingly global in its continued embrace of the cloud, having a service which is run locally can offer a little peace of mind. That is to say, if the phone breaks, the ability to go the store and speak to a representative, having your complaints met face to face, or at least with a familiar accent. Especially for those in the enterprise world, this kind of accountability provides an extra degree of assurance.
In a drive to increase their physical global presence, Microsoft have announced that it will be providing Office 365 and Dynamics CRM from data centers in Australia, following the rollout of localized Azure services last month. The benefits of this move to Australian users will be many, though chief among them will likely be the ability of the new service to better comply with local regulations. The services are expected to be delivered from local data centers by March 2015.
In addition to this, Microsoft has also announced the expansion of its Cloud Solution Provider program to Australia, which will again deliver a number of benefits to local clients.
Having previously expanded in a similar way in Japan previously, among other countries, it seems as though Microsoft is committed to improving the local access to its services globally.
Is this expansion of localism something that might be of benefit to you or your firm? Let us know in the comments below.
Further reading: Microsoft, Office 365
