Microsoft has installed new data centres in Germany under the control of Deutsche Telekom, the companies said Wednesday, in a move that will keep privacy-sensitive Germans' customer data in the country. After scandals over US surveillance programmes that spooked Europeans, Deutsche Telekom will serve as a "Data Trustee " for Microsoft's cloud-based services in Germany.

Microsoft will offer Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online from two datacenters in Germany under a model that uses a Data Trustee to control access to customer data. Customer data will only be stored in Germany. The Data Trustee will be T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom?s corporate customer unit. Deutsche Telekom will be responsible for controlling access to customer data.

"We will assume the role of Data Trustee for Microsoft?s customers' data. Through our partnership Microsoft?s customers in Germany and Europe will soon be able to choose a new degree of data protection that complies with the requirements of German business enterprises and many public sector customers," explained Anette Bronder, Director of T-Systems? Digital Division.

Also, Deutsche Telekom is supervising access to the infrastructure that houses customer data at these high-security data centers in Germany which will be operated according to the global security and operational standards for all Microsoft datacenters.

What's more, connections between the datacenters will be made over the Deutsche Telekom network. In addition to the Microsoft contract customers will sign an amendment enabling T-Systems to act as the Data Trustee. Under the contract, Microsoft will have no access to customer data unless granted by T-Systems or customers.

Microsoft will begin to roll out the services in the second half of 2016.

Last month the EU's top court issued a landmark verdict striking down a key transatlantic data deal, saying that Internet giants could be barred from sending European citizens' personal information to the US in the wake of the Snowden scandal.

Last month the EU's top court issued a landmark verdict striking down a key transatlantic data deal, saying that Internet giants could be barred from sending European citizens' personal information to the US in the wake of the Snowden scandal.