Microsoft grows EU cloud localization services

Microsoft announced Thursday that it will provide upgraded cloud computing services that keep data within the European Union as part of an effort to comply with stricter overseas privacy regulations.

The tech giant’s modifications affect a range of offerings, such as Azure, Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365. The upgrades build on earlier updates to meet EU regulations set last year, which included the storage of automated system logs. Microsoft has stated that it is “the first major cloud provider to offer this degree of data residency” to European customers.

“With today’s update, Microsoft takes another decisive step in expanding its suite of trusted cloud services that respect European values and meet the specific requirements of our commercial and public sector customers in Europe,” Microsoft said in a statement.

Amid increasingly stringent data privacy laws in the 27-country EU, cloud computing firms are shifting towards localizing data storage and processing.

“Governments are enacting regulations to control the flow and storage of data within their borders, and arming these regulations with huge associated penalties and fines to protect their citizens’ data, and as a flow on effect, boost their local technology sectors,” said Claude Mandy, Chief Evangelist, Data of Symmetry Systems, which provides cloud security. “The size of these penalties makes it impossible for global cloud providers to ignore.”

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