Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday announced plans to offer commercial cloud services from the UK. Microsoft Azure and Office 365 will be generally available from local UK-based data centers in late 2016 with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online following shortly thereafter.

Microsoft also announced completion of the latest phase of expansion for its data center facilities in Ireland and the Netherlands, both of which serve as cloud computing hubs for European customers.

The new local Microsoft cloud regions will enable data residency for customers in the UK, allowing data to be replicated within the UK for backup and recovery, reduced network distance and lower latency. General availability of Microsoft Azure and Office 365 is anticipated in late 2016, with Dynamics CRM Online following shortly thereafter. Microsoft will also offer Azure ExpressRoute to provide customers with the option of a private connection to the cloud.

In addition, Microsoft announced the completion of the most recent expansion of its Ireland site and that its data center facility in Middenmeer, the Netherlands, is now operational.

Both locations serve as hubs for Microsoft cloud services, including Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online, and will provide additional capacity for customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.