BEIJING, April 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 21Vianet Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: VNET ) ("21Vianet" or the "Company"), the largest carrier-neutral internet data center services provider in China, today announced that Microsoft Corporation's (Nasdaq: MSFT ) Office 365 services are now generally available to all paying customers in China, delivering for the first time the familiar Office productivity suite, now equipped with more advanced communication and collaboration tools, as a local cloud service to business and government customers throughout China.
Operated by 21Vianet, Microsoft Office 365 can now provide fully-operational services to all paying customers in China. Combined with the previous general release of Microsoft Azure services in China operated by 21Vianet announced in late March, this new development further solidifies Microsoft as the first international company to offer a comprehensive commercial suite of public cloud services in China. Office 365 is Microsoft's fastest-growing commercial product ever; 20,000 customers have already tried Microsoft Office 365 services in China since its public preview in August 2013 including private enterprises, government organizations, and education institutions. Additionally, many large enterprises and government organizations have signed up for the services as paying customers including Shanghai, Wenzhou and Xi'an city governments.
Office 365 technology leverages more than 20 years of Microsoft's experience providing the familiar Office productivity solutions to enterprises and institutions of all sizes, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Outlook, all connected to Microsoft's collaboration services including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online. The cloud-based Office 365 enables users to store, manage and collaborate on documents across devices, while giving companies a high level of security and control to protect critical corporate data.
The Company, in conjunction with Microsoft, held a ceremony celebrating the official launch today, April 15 at the Shanghai Energy Park. The event was attended by many government officials including Mr. Xiaofan Zhao, the Chairman of the China Software Association, and many corporate executives from enterprise customers including ICBC Leasing, Cigna-Daniel Ma, Dongfeng Renaut, TCL-Ms Ma, and Domino's, which were early adopters of Office 365.
Mr. Josh Chen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, "We are proud to work with Microsoft and become the Chinese operator of the Office 365 services. With both Office 365 and Azure services, we have become the one-stop-shop for Microsoft cloud-based services in China. Enterprises across China are increasingly turning toward Office 365 and Azure services because of the many advantages they offer, such as increased mobility thorough comprehensive mobile integration, reduced IT infrastructure spending as the services and data are managed in the cloud and ensured data security as the services are locally-hosted and well-regulated.
"Furthermore, to ensure the stability, reliability and security of this offering, 21Vianet has built out its Microsoft-certified staff, with approximately 300 full-time employees dedicated to providing 24x7x365 support for Office 365 and Azure alone," Mr. Chen added.
"We are in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. More than 1 billion people use Office to get things done, and they want to use it on their PCs, smartphones, tablets, and across the web." said Qi Lu, Executive Vice President, Applications and Services at Microsoft. "Office 365 operated by 21Vianet enables people to use Office on any of their devices. Operated locally in China, Office 365 brings Chinese users a fresh computing experience enabled by the cloud."
"Office 365 is the easiest way for companies to expand their business, both locally and abroad," said Ralph Haupter, Corporate Vice President and CEO, Microsoft Greater China. "The launch of Office 365 operated by 21Vianet gives companies in China trustworthy technology and service to expand their business."
For businesses, organizations, and individuals who wish to purchase the Office 365, there are a range of tiered pricing options available. Office 365 operated by 21Vianet is also available at an early bird discount with commercial and government customers having access to a general availability price promotion until May 31, 2014. For more information about Office 365, please visit www.office365.com .
About 21Vianet
21Vianet Group, Inc. is the largest carrier-neutral internet data center services provider in China. 21Vianet provides hosting and related services, managed network services, cloud infrastructure services, and content delivery network services, improving the reliability, security and speed of its customers' internet infrastructure. Customers may locate their servers and networking equipment in 21Vianet's data centers and connect to China's internet backbone through 21Vianet's extensive fiber optic network. In addition, 21Vianet's proprietary smart routing technology enables customers' data to be delivered across the internet in a faster and more reliable manner. 21Vianet operates in 44 cities throughout China, servicing a diversified and loyal base of several thousand customers that range from Fortune 500 conglomerates, government entities, blue-chip enterprises to small- and mid-sized business enterprises
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT ) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the outlook for the first quarter of 2014 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as 21Vianet's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. 21Vianet may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to fourth parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about 21Vianet's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: 21Vianet's goals and strategies; 21Vianet's expansion plans; the expected growth of the data center services market; expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, 21Vianet's services; 21Vianet's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with customers; 21Vianet's plans to invest in research and development to enhance its solution and service offerings; and general economic and business conditions in the regions where 21Vianet provides solutions and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in 21Vianet's reports filed with, or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and 21Vianet undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
Investor Relations Contact: 21Vianet Group, Inc. Eric Chu, CFA +1 (908) 707 2062 Joseph Cheng +86 10 8456 2121 ICR, Inc. Jeremy Peruski +1 (646) 405-4922
