Microsoft's UK Dynamics 365 launch welcomed by partners

Microsoft made Dynamics 365 available in UK datacentres earlier this week

Microsoft's launch of Dynamics 365 in its UK datacentres has come at the perfect time for the channel as demand for the service increases, according to New Signature founder Dan Scarfe.

Dynamics 365 was made available in Microsoft's UK datacentres earlier this week, adding to the Azure and Office 365 capabilities already on offer.

The launch means end-users can use the cloud version of Dynamics while still meaning data sovereignty regulations of their data has to be stored in the UK.

Speaking to CRN Scarfe said that, with UK firms becoming more aware of the product, he expects to see the uptake swell over the coming months.

"We don't do an enormous amount in the UK but we do quite a bit out in North America and it's definitely something we're looking at doing more in the UK," he said. "The one thing about Dynamics 365 is it is right at the very core of your business. All of the details of your customers, your financial data - really quite core, critical information - is stored in it.

"The idea with having local sovereign datacentres is to make sure our data is safe in the UK or England specifically and from a performance perspective having that low latency [in a UK datacentre] is quite important

"[The launch] unlocks customers that might have been more nervous and cautious about it before because it alleviates performance and security concerns they might have had."

Chris Rothwell, Dynamics 365 lead at Microsoft UK, said Dynamics 365 will help UK customers connect "disconnected" infrastructures and help them prepare for GDPR.

"Since the launch of Dynamics 365, we have enabled thousands of organisations to digitally transform, moving from rigid and disconnected business infrastructures to modern, intelligent services that connect silos of data to help make better, faster decisions and deliver greater customer experiences," he said.

"The introduction of Dynamics 365 to our UK data centres will greatly assist our customers in meeting the unique data and regulatory needs of the UK market, including the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation legislation."