Microsoft Corp announced that a localized version of its popular teamwork app Microsoft Teams will be officially launched in China, during the first half of 2023, as it works to meet the surging demand for more engaging and efficient remote work tools.

The move is also part of the US tech company's broader push to accelerate its digital transformation in China as it celebrates the 30th anniversary of its operations in the country this year.

Hou Yang, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China, said industries are facing huge challenges brought by uncertainty across the world, and an increasing number of enterprises are finding that digital transformation and innovation are becoming the key to boosting business resilience and competitive advantage.

Microsoft's cloud technologies can help companies do more with less, Hou said.

A case in point is the localized Teams service, which will be operated by its Chinese cloud computing partner 21Vianet Group, can bring more comprehensive and high-quality localized service experience and technical support to the Chinese market, Microsoft said.

Roan Kang, general manager of marketing and operations at Microsoft Greater China, said the monthly active users in China have grown more than tenfold compared with the number before the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrate the surging local demand.

The localized version of Teams can better boost communication efficiency for Chinese companies that go global and multinationals that aim to better serve the Chinese market, Kang said.