- Microsoft completes its EU Data Boundary project
- EU cloud data will now be stored in the EU
- Meta previously received a fine from the EU for storing data in the US
Microsoft Cloud customers in the EU will now be able to store and process their data within the continent after the company finally completed a major project.
In an announcement, Microsoft said its new EU Data Boundary project will mean customers can now store professional services data from “technical support interactions” for core cloud services within EFTA and the EU.
Previously, Microsoft Cloud customers had their data sent to the US, which raised privacy concerns from the EU.
Greater control
The announcement is the completion of a “massive, multi-year” project, to fulfill Microsoft’s goals of providing a solution which processes and stores customer data.
It will include, “customer data and pseudonymized personal data for Microsoft core cloud services — including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and most Azure services — within the EU and EFTA regions.”
The project initially launched in January 2023, with the first phase focusing on core services. Phase 2 expanded the scope of the EU Data Boundary to include “pseudonymized personal data”, and now in this final phase, Microsoft Cloud sovereignty gives customers more control, transparency, and accountability through European Cloud principles.
Microsoft says it has invested over $20 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure to meet the growing demand and “expand local options”.
EU regulators have previously raised concerns over how Microsoft processes the data of cloud service users, and Microsoft is not the only target. Meta received a giant $1.3 billion fine, and was ordered to stop transferring EU data to the US.
The requirement to stop the storage of personal data of EU individuals would be a “massive undertaking to carry out, financially, technically and logistically,” said Nigel Jones, co-founder of the Privacy Compliance Hub, so it’s no surprise this project from Microsoft took over two years to complete.
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