Microsoft has confirmed that data uploaded to its cloud products by European customers will stay in Europe under the oversight of its regional staff. Forming part of its new ‘Data Guardian’ initiative, the development was announced by Redmond earlier today as part of a wider package of new Sovereign Cloud products and services targeting the EU market.
“Our EU Data Boundary already provides an industry-leading commitment to store and process your data on infrastructure located in Europe,” wrote Microsoft’s chief commercial officer, Judson Althoff, in a blog post published earlier today. Data Guardian, Althoff continued, would see additional oversight added to this data protection framework. “All remote access by Microsoft engineers to the systems that store and process your data in Europe is approved and monitored by European resident personnel in real time and will be logged in a tamper-evident ledger.”
The announcement comes a month after Microsoft’s president Brad Smith felt obliged to clarify that the technology firm respected European law, amid growing speculation the company would be penalised by antitrust regulators for perceived pricing irregularities in relation to its Office and Teams products. “We understand that European laws apply to our business practices in Europe, just as local laws apply to local practices in the United States and similar laws apply elsewhere in the world,” Smith said during a speech in Brussels. “We’re committed not only to building digital infrastructure for Europe, but to respecting the role that laws across Europe play in regulating our products and services.”
Microsoft in new sovereign cloud push
In addition to launching its Data Guardian initiative, Microsoft also announced details of several new sovereign cloud products. Redmond confirmed that its new Sovereign Public Cloud service, an updated form of its Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty product, will be available across all European data centre regions. The service, currently in preview, will be generally available in all European cloud regions later this year.
Microsoft also announced new collaborations with local authorities in France and Germany through its proprietary National Partner Clouds, and its facilitation of ‘Bleu,’ a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini. In Germany, Delos Cloud, an SAP subsidiary, will additionally operate a sovereign cloud for the public sector that aligns with the German government’s Cloud Platform Requirements.
“The launch of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud marks a pivotal moment in empowering European institutions and industries with the control, compliance and innovation they need to thrive in today’s digital economy,” said Capgemini Group CEO Aiman Ezzat. “As a shareholder of Bleu, we have already set up a National Partner Cloud in France in order to deliver Microsoft technologies in a sovereign environment that respects the French State requirements.”
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