As per recent reports, it has been revealed that a licensing deal has been signed, which will allow cloud services of Microsoft's Office 365 and Windows Azure to be available in China. Things would not have been possible if the deal would not have been finalized by 21Vianet Group, a local data center service provider.

Both the companies have confirmed the news, and have affirmed that the deal will allow Chinese customers to have direct access to the services of the both the companies. While talking about the deal, Microsoft officials affirmed that the main aim behind entering into the deal was to provide their services to Shanghai municipal government.

Dai Haibo, who is the chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, affirmed, "It's a milestone for Microsoft's cloud business in China, and the Shanghai government's adoption of legal software".

On the other hand, Chen Sheng, who is the CEO of 21Vianet, said that they are quite happy to know that China will have its own local data centers. For now, the cloud services have been initiated in Shanghai, but Microsoft officials affirmed that they have been thinking to extend the services in other cities of the country as well.