As Microsoft had announced, the prices for MS Office 365 for corporate customers will be increased from March 2022. The price increase of around 20 percent was justified with improvements in the Office suite.
In the summer of 2021, Microsoft decided to increase the price of MS Office 365 for corporate customers from March 2022. The company justifies the price increase of around 20 percent with numerous renewals and expansions of Office 365 in recent years. The changes will affect monthly subscriptions. And thus hit small and medium-sized companies particularly hard, which have been dependent on Office 365. Microsoft is indisputably one of the most successful technology companies globally and, with the MS Office 365 product range, has created a cloud-based work environment that companies use worldwide. Nevertheless, many users are now opting for other, local cloud storage.
MS Office 365: GDPR Compliance Questioned
In recent years, data protection experts have increasingly criticised Microsoft’s handling of user data. With the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU in 2018, personal data should be legally protected against misuse. Nevertheless, Microsoft is still under criticism from the data protection supervisory authority because it suspects that personal data will reach the USA despite the GDPR.
US corporations like Microsoft are subject to US legislation, the low level of data protection incompatible with the high European requirements for personal data. According to data protection experts, it can therefore be expected that US providers will increasingly want to prove in the EU that their cloud offerings comply with the GDPR guidelines applicable within the EU, even if this is proving difficult and some questions are still unresolved.
European companies are becoming increasingly GDPR-aware and are choosing with great care where and under what conditions providers store their data. Valentijn Koppenaal, Managing Director of LeitzCloud by Boxx GmbH, also sees this trend in the European market. “With cloud storage, companies need not fear that personal data will be passed on to third parties. because the strictest data protection regulations are applicable.”
Protection Of Personal Data Through Encryption
With the synchronisation service LeitzCloud, necessary data is encrypted using the latest technologies such as SSL and TLS. The LeitzCloud servers are located at TUV-certified data centres. This gives the guarantee that personal information is only stored. “Thanks to the clear GDPR standards, our customers’ data is protected following the strictest data protection regulations.”
Companies have been switching from large US cloud providers to local cloud storage for some time now. companies are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of data security, data protection, and GDPR compliance. After Microsoft’s price increase for MS Office 365, it is expected that this trend will continue to increase and that some companies will switch to cheaper cloud providers.
The changes will affect monthly subscriptions. And thus hit small and medium-sized companies particularly hard, which have been dependent on Office 365. Microsoft is indisputably one of the most successful technology companies globally and, with the MS Office 365 product range, has created a cloud-based work environment that companies use worldwide.
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