MOD leaps into the Cloud

Homeland September 7, 2016

September 6th saw Microsoft open its first UK Cloud based data centres, with the Ministry of Defence as its first customer.

With Azure and Office 365 now generally available from multiple data centre locations in the UK, businesses and public sector organisations will see a digital transformation occur, allowing them to increase productivity while meeting compliance and policy requirements. Office 365 and Azure will be followed up with Dynamics CRM Online in 2017.

The introduction of these data applications locally, will bring world-class reliability and performance combined with data residency to government departments, regulated industries and other businesses alike.

Restrictions on the storage of data prevent companies from storing it ‘away from the country of origin’, so the UK based service will be a massive boost across public and private sector; including such bodies as MOD and South London and Maudsley NHS Trust who have both started using the cloud.

Built on Microsoft’s Trusted Cloud principles of security, privacy, compliance, transparency and availability, this creates new opportunities for innovation, with the intent to spark local economic growth for Microsoft UK’s 25,000-plus partners and support local technology advancement.

The MoD, which employs around 250,000 people, will use Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure cloud services, with the Government citing value for money and security as key reasons for the agreement.

Mike Stone, Chief Digital and Information Officer at the MoD, is impressed with the service provided:

Microsoft’s secure and transparent cloud service in the UK fits perfectly with the MoD’s digital transformation agenda.

“This agreement, which is based on Microsoft’s world-class reliability and performance, will allow us to deliver cost-effective, modern and flexible information capabilities. It will ensure we are better-placed in our ever-changing, digital-first world.”

Following on from the opening of the first data centre, he said that the MoD’s Azure cloud will enable the organisation to share core IT infrastructure across all elements of defence and will be able to connect to the public cloud and Amazon Web Services. It will be kept updated as and when Microsoft enhances its public Azure cloud, Stone added.

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