14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently announced Office 365 Germany, a new version of its cloud-based productivity suite specifically aimed at German customers.
In addition to providing subscribers with the already famous productivity solutions, Office 365 is said to bring one major advantage: all user data is stored on German servers, which means that your information never leaves the country.
This is without a doubt Microsoft’s response to the lawsuit in the United States where the government is trying to get access to user information stored overseas. Office 365 Germany data will be stored on a local data center operated by T-Systems International, an independent German company that’s subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
More products specifically aimed at German customers
Microsoft says the firm would control all access to customer data by anyone other than the customer and their users, offering state-of-the-art security while also complying with the EU data protection regulation.
“Office 365 Germany provides innovative, cloud-based productivity tools that enable our customers to grow their businesses and meet their strict compliance restrictions like data residency in Germany. We are providing our customers a unique, differentiated option in how their data is handled and where it is stored, helping them fuel their digital transformation,” says Sabine Bendiek, Area Vice President, Microsoft Germany.
Microsoft claims Office 365 has already reached 85 million monthly active users across the world and it’s confident that German businesses and organizations would be attracted by its offering, especially given the high security level that it’s offering with the local data center.
Schools and government departments are specifically targeted with the new Office 365 version, especially because local authorities, including here the city of Munich, were among the pioneers of the transition to Linux.
Office 365 is not the only product that Microsoft is offering to German customers with the help of local data centers. Back in September, the company launched Azure cloud service from datacenters in Frankfurt/Main and Magdeburg, Germany, and the company will release Dynamics 365 in the country as well.