Microsoft and 21Vianet have partnered to provide Microsoft Cloud services in China.
Microsoft Partners With 21Vianet to Offer China-Based Cloud Services
By Paul Mozur
BEIJING--Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said it is partnering with Chinese data center services provider 21Vianet Group Inc. (VNET) to offer cloud services based on data centers within China.
In a post on its website Thursday, Microsoft said it licensed its cloud-based Office 365 and Windows Azure software to Nasdaq-listed 21Vianet, which will allow clients in China to store data in Chinese data centers.
Microsoft added that it would offer clients in China the option to choose between hosting their data within or outside China. The decision about where to host data for a company can be highly sensitive as it is effectively outsourcing the storage of often critical data to a third party. Chinese storage centers are also subject to Chinese laws, which analysts say can at times provide less protection.
GigaOm's Barb Darrow points to the original Microsoft blog post that announces the new services.
Here is the Microsoft post.
Cloud OS is coming to China
1 Nov 2012 2:00 AM