Microsoft promised on Thursday to process and store all European cloud-based client data in the EU amid anxiety in the region about US legislation on personal data collection.
Microsoft’s European clients have been concerned for a long over the governmental status of data they use to secure with US companies in the cloud, and they could be scrutinized by US authorities.
This head stress started in July when the European Court of Justice struck down the EU-US Privacy Shield, a framework allowing firms to shift the personal data to the US in action with Brussels’ General Data Protection Regulation.
The European court found that the mechanism is not adequately protecting the EU data from US authorities over which Europe has neither control nor right of redress.
Microsoft president Brad Smith said, If you belong to a commercial or public sector customer in the EU, we will enable you to process and store all the data in the EU, and are also ready to go beyond our existing data storage commitments.
In simple words, they are committed to they will not letting your data shift outside of the EU.
Smith said the commitment would be applicable to all of Microsoft’s core cloud services, whether it’s Azure, Microsoft 365, or Dynamics 365. This will take effect next year.
The initiative has given an unofficial name to the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud.
Smith stated that the Microsoft cloud services are already complying with or exceeding EU guidelines even prior to the plan we’re announcing today. We safeguard our customers’ data from improper access by any government in the world.
They have positive hope for this step, responding to customers that want even greater data residency commitments.
US-dominated cloud
If Smith’s release sufficiently assuages lingering European fears on the issue, the plan will keep on continuing.
The location of Europeans’ personal data in US providers’ European data centers does not claim the security as they can still be subject to US law,” owing to the extra-territorial reach of the latter, financial auditors KPMG mentioned on a piece of paper on the European cloud market with French IT firms that includes Microsoft rival OVHCloud.
Microsoft had made a commitment to the motive of the EU for “Europe Fit for the Digital Age” and pledged compensation to customers was any of their data were open in violation of European data protection rules.
Cloud services give chances to the firms to store large amounts of data on remote servers as per their requirements, but this sector is dominated by US providers, especially Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google.
The cloud services sector is growing exponentially.
As per the KPMG, the European market alone is estimated to be worth 53 billion euros and could grow by a factor of between 5-10 times by 2030.
The US market is highlighted to grow from the current level, which is $76.4 billion, to $390.3 billion by 2028, Fortune Business Insights research mentioned.
