Microsoft 365 learning platform opens UK data centres for compliance

A Microsoft 365 learning platform has launched data residencies in the UK and Germany to support new compliance requirements within those regions.

Learning Management System (LMS365) is a service built into Microsoft 365 that helps organisations to deliver training on the business suite through SharePoint, Teams and mobile devices.

The platform has announced it's deploying new 'Azure' data centres in the UK and Germany. The company said that as the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated cloud-based technologies, businesses in these regions are having to grapple with changing regulatory frameworks and in-country data residency standards.

For the UK, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) combined with country's exit from the European Union has placed a new focus on data governance and security, according to Travis Campbell, senior business manager at LMS365.

"It's important for us that customers can choose our platform without having to worry about legal constraints," he said. "Providing these new data centres is key to supporting our expanding customer base as they rely on LMS365 to successfully implement remote learning and learning in the flow of work via Microsoft 365 and Teams."

Similarly, at the end of 2019 Slack announced data residencies in Europe, with a UK region launched in April. Its reasoning was that large organisations needed more control over their data to meet tough compliance regulations.

For German businesses, the pandemic and its effect on digitisation have intensified the focus on data governance, according to Robert Nederby, managing director of DACH at LMS365.

"COVID-19 put high pressure on companies to support remote working," he said. "At the same time, German businesses across industries are fast-tracking their cloud and digitisation journeys. This has raised discussions of data protection and unprecedented demand for trusted cloud infrastructures like Microsoft 365, Teams and Azure.

"This expansion helps us deliver on our continued commitment to serve our fastgrowing customer base of +200 customers in UK and DACH, and to elevate their businesses through the transformative capabilities of the LMS365 platform."