Microsoft has announced the creation of what it is describing as its ‘EU Data Boundary’ solution.

The solution will see customers within the EU able to process and store parts of their data in the bloc. It will apply to all of Microsoft’s core cloud services including Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Power BI platform. The phased rollout will begin on January 1.

Microsoft operates more than 17 data centre regions in Europe, across countries including France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

In a blog post, Julie Brill, chief privacy officer at Microsoft, said: “The EU Data Boundary is an industry-leading data residency solution. Based on customer feedback and insights, as well as learnings gained over the past year of developing the boundary, we have adjusted the timeline for the localisation of additional personal data categories and data provided when receiving technical support.

“To ensure that we continue to deliver a world-class solution that meets the overall quality, stability, and security expectations of customers, Microsoft will deliver on-going enhancements to the boundary in phases. To assist customers with planning, we have published a detailed roadmap for our EU Data Boundary available on our Trust Center.”

Big tech firms have become increasingly concerned about the flow of customer data since the EU introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. Amazon was fined over €745 million in 2021 for issues involving cookie consent, while Facebook and Google have also suffered fines as a result of the legislation.

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