Microsoft Will Let Its EU Cloud Customers Process and Store Data Locally

Microsoft announced today that it will start rolling out the EU Data Boundary for its cloud services on January 1, 2023. The multi-year rollout will allow EU customers using the Microsoft Cloud to process and store customer data in their region.

“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.

Microsoft currently has more than 17 datacenters regions in Europe, and it’s currently planning to open nine new data center regions. The company says that it offers more data residency options than any other cloud providers, though public sector and commercial customers in the European Union may still be worried about data flows between Microsoft’s data centers in the EU and those in the US. However, the Redmond giant argues that its cloud services “already comply with or exceed EU requirements.”

With its EU data boundary, Microsoft will be adopting a phased approach. “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,” the company said today.