Microsoft completes landmark EU Knowledge Boundary, providing enhanced information residency and transparency

At Microsoft, we stay dedicated to enabling European companies to thrive by offering the instruments and help essential to drive their success and provides our clients all through the European Union extra management over their information. To satisfy these targets, at present Microsoft is saying that it has accomplished the EU Knowledge Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud, an industry-leading answer that shops and processes public sector and business buyer information within the EU and European Free Commerce Affiliation (EFTA). 

With the completion of the boundary, our European business and public sector clients are actually capable of retailer and course of their buyer information and pseudonymized private information for Microsoft core cloud companies — together with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Energy Platform, and most Azure companies — throughout the EU and EFTA areas. As well as, Microsoft will retailer skilled companies information from technical help interactions for the core cloud companies throughout the EU and EFTA areas.  

This milestone is the end result of an enormous, multi-year engineering effort throughout a whole lot of Microsoft product groups and hundreds of builders across the globe. The EU Knowledge Boundary displays Microsoft’s dedication to shiping unmatched cloud companies that help European transparency, defend privateness, and improve buyer management. It’s a mirrored image of our dedication to Europe and is a part of a variety of residency capabilities and options we offer to our clients.  

The EU Knowledge Boundary has been delivered to our clients in three phases: 

• Microsoft launched Section 1 in January 2023, enabling the storage and processing of buyer information for core companies, together with a lot of the Microsoft Cloud suite of on-line companies: Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Energy Platform, and Azure.
• Section 2, launched in January 2024, expanded the scope of the EU Knowledge Boundary to incorporate pseudonymized private information, guaranteeing even information that’s pseudonymized to forestall direct identification stays inside these areas.
• Section 3, with the completion of the EU Knowledge Boundary in February 2025, ensures that when clients within the EU and EFTA request technical help for companies comparable to Microsoft 365, Energy Platform, and Dynamics 365, the skilled companies information offered by clients (comparable to logs) and generated by Microsoft (comparable to help case notes) are actually saved throughout the EU and EFTA areas. For sure Azure companies, further buyer motion could also be required to acquire the skilled companies information storage dedication, which is documented right here.

Constructing on a long time of dedication to Europe

Microsoft’s dedication to Europe spans greater than 40 years. Over the previous 16 months, now we have invested greater than $20 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure throughout the continent to broaden our native choices and meet rising demand.

As well as, Microsoft affords a set of options to offer our clients with better management over their information’s location and to meet Microsoft’s elementary rules and strategy to transparency, accountability, and information safety:

• Throughout our merchandise, Microsoft affords extra granular controls over the situation of Microsoft 365 buyer information by Microsoft 365 Superior Knowledge Residency.
• Our Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty permits particular public sector clients to construct and digitally remodel Azure workloads whereas assembly sovereignty, compliance, safety, and coverage necessities.
• We frequently innovate to fulfill buyer wants and lead in transparency and accountability by our European Cloud Ideas.

Taken collectively, these efforts replicate our ongoing concentrate on supporting Europe’s innovation, progress, and expertise wants because the area strikes into an more and more digital future.

Advancing world cybersecurity with the Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft is deeply dedicated to cybersecurity, prioritizing the safety of our clients and the broader world digital ecosystem. By means of the Safe Future Initiative (SFI), Microsoft integrates safety into each side of our operations, from product design to day by day practices. This world effort is crucial in combating more and more advanced cyberattacks, guaranteeing a safer digital setting for our European clients and organizations worldwide.

In restricted safety cases that require a coordinated world response, important information could also be transferred with sturdy protections that safeguard buyer information. In these circumstances, Microsoft supplies clear info and implements complete safety measures, together with encryption, strict entry controls, and different resilient protections. This world intelligence permits Microsoft to offer real-time alerts and safety response mitigation, guaranteeing clients stay protected irrespective of the place a menace originates. Prospects can study extra at: What’s the EU Knowledge Boundary?

At Microsoft, we imagine cloud expertise will be modern, safe, and constructed to honor European values. The EU Knowledge Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud is one other instance of how we’re working to empower European organizations with the options and instruments they should develop and thrive in a contemporary, safe cloud setting.

Whereas our services proceed to be compliant with EU laws, we’re devoted to listening to our clients in all elements of the world—and can constantly evolve to transcend compliance the place mandatory to fulfill our clients’ distinctive wants.

Be taught extra about the EU Knowledge Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud.

Tags: information privateness, EU, European Union