• In recent years we have seen a number of companies suffer massive fines as a result of fringing data laws in the EU around GDPR. 
• Hoping to assist its cloud customers in this regard is Microsoft, which is set to roll out its EU Data Boundary offering. 
• It will allow customers to store and process certain types of data in the region, with Microsoft taking a phased approach.

Failure to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has seen a number of companies slapped with massive fines in the European Union over the handling of data. So much so that some companies question whether or not they want to host data in the region.

In an effort to retain its EU business, Microsoft has announced that its Data Boundary for cloud customers is set to begin a phased rollout of as 1st January 2023. This will allow its customers to store and process certain kinds of data, with the move to make it more encompassing down the line.

“Beginning on January 1, 2023, Microsoft will offer customers the ability to store and process their customer data within the EU Data Boundary for Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Platform and Dynamics 365 services. With this release, Microsoft expands on existing local storage and processing commitments, greatly reducing data flows out of Europe and building on our industry-leading data residency solutions,” the company explained of the solution in a press release.

“In coming phases of the EU Data Boundary, Microsoft will expand the EU Data Boundary solution to include the storage and processing of additional categories of personal data, including data provided when receiving technical support,” it added.

Microsoft is not the only hyperscaler concerned with data location in order to stay on the right side of regulators and decrease the risk of fines for customers, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) also signalling its intent in this regard.

To that end it announced a pledge for greater data sovereignty in the future, although it does not have a solution ready to roll out, like Microsoft does.

With the company working to ensure its customers’ data practices do not flout the EU’s laws, it will be interesting to see whether other regions will receive tailored offerings, such as PoPIA in South Africa. That said, PoPIA has shown little to no teeth since coming into play last year.

[Image – Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash]