By: Dann Anthony Maurno
Microsoft has announced the general availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online served from local datacenter regions in India, “joining Microsoft Azure and Office 365 in providing the trusted Microsoft Cloud in India.”
So described Microsoft’s Jujar Singh on the company’s Dynamics Blog. Singh went on to describe that the locally-available Microsoft Cloud “is designed to fuel innovation and accelerate India’s digital transformation.”
The new regions, Central India (Pune) and South India (Chennai), enable data residency for customers in India, which as Microsoft describes “[brings] enterprise-grade reliability and performance to regulated industries and other businesses.”
Key to that performance is data replication in multiple regions within India for business continuity and reduced network distance. It further offers the option of private connections to the cloud with Azure ExpressRoute. The Microsoft Cloud in India offers the same financially-backed service level agreement of 99.9 percent availability.
As one of the world’s leading cloud operators, Microsoft has invested more than $15 billion in building a global cloud infrastructure that offers high availability and security while lowering overall costs.
With this announcement, Dynamics CRM Online now available for purchase in 130 markets.
Microsoft’s Trusted Cloud enables “Digital India”
Indian companies describe a Digital India that is rapidly modernizing and expanding its infrastructure, but one in which security and local data residency are paramount.
“India is a hub to the operations of global companies like ours,” said Deepak Padaki, Senior Vice President Strategy & Chief Risk Officer of Infosys Limited. Infosys is a Bangalore-based technology consultancy with global operations. He continued:
[Of]course, India is fast emerging as a market for next generation companies. The availability of in-country storage and processing infrastructure will offer better performance, redundancy, security, and compliance. This will spur greater adoption of cloud based services across the enterprise software landscape that is shaping the new Digital India – enabling businesses to offer differentiated user experiences and new opportunities for growth at optimal cost.”
G.V. Gopalakrishnan, COO of Aditya Birla Financial Services, described the need for locally-sourced, secure cloud solutions. “Data security, compliance and regulatory requirements are challenges faced by businesses operating in banking and financial sector.” As eager as Indian companies are to take advantage of evolving technology, including cloud computing, they must do so without compromising on data security, compliance and regulatory requirements.
“There is always a fear,” said Gopalakrishnan. But availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions from the datacenters in India is “perfectly timed to help organizations overcome the fear and embark on their digital transformation journey.” This he says is especially important for highly-regulated industries as banking and finance, government departments and state-owned enterprises.
He concluded, “Assurance of local data residency and increased privacy measures are bound to accelerate public and hybrid cloud adoption by businesses and governments in India, crucial to make ‘Digital India’ a reality.”