Microsoft said Wednesday it will give German customers of its online services the option of storing their data in Germany, addressing persistent privacy concerns in Europe after revelations about U.S. online surveillance.
European consumers, privacy advocates and lawmakers have cited reports based on leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to claim that data stored by U.S. companies isn’t safe from U.S. government eavesdropping.
Such concerns pose a threat to firms such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon, whose business model is increasingly built around data storage and so-called cloud services such as Microsoft’s Office 365.
Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said that next year the company will start using data centers in Magdeburg and Frankfurt that are managed by T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/microsoft-to-keep-german-customers-cloud-data-in-country-3/
