Microsoft announces an expansion of its EU data border. This now also includes all personal data of Azure customers. Phase 3 is planned for this year.

Microsoft began rolling out EU Data Boundary on January 1, 2023. Data Boundary is a digital wall that ensures cloud customers can keep their data safe within the European Union. This offer is aimed at customers who prefer this for whatever reason.

Personal Data

The rollout will take place in several phases. After Phase 1, Microsoft is now announcing “Phase 2” in a blog. The expansion was originally planned for 2023, but with a slight delay, Microsoft is now keeping its word. In this phase, personal data also falls under the data limit. For example, this data may come from the automated system logs of Microsoft 365 applications and therefore now remains entirely in the European Union.

In addition, Microsoft also provides more detailed documentation on the processes they implement to ensure the protection of data that remains within the borders of the European Union. The tools for pseudonymizing personal data are also being expanded. For more information, see the official EU Data Boundary website.

Important to note: The data limit is not activated at the push of a button. Microsoft already states that each online service requires a specific configuration to work with the data limit. If you want to configure your Azure services or Microsoft 365 solution accordingly, you have to think intensively about the settings.

Phase 3

The EU data limit is not yet complete with this expansion. Phase 3 follows this year, in which Microsoft wants to see, among other things, what it can do with the data needed for technical support. Microsoft also promises to keep this data within the EU as much as possible, but for more complex interventions such as the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, limited and secure data transfer must take place. Customers can request that technical support always be provided from Europe first, but this option is subject to a charge. This is expected to be completed by December 31st.

The EU data border is important for Microsoft’s strategy to position itself as a reliable partner for Europe. This includes investments in European data sovereignty as well as the rollout of new Azure regions like ours. With the help of partners, we also provide European customers with a sovereign cloud.