Software King of the World Microsoft will begin rolling out the first phase of its European Union data boundary plan on January 1, 2023.
The company said the plan will allow customers to store and process their customer data within the EU. The move comes two days after the EU commission said it had officially begun approving the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
The changes mean that companies that use Microsoft products and services can store and process their customer data within the EU. Microsoft has included Azure, Power BI, Dynamics 365 and Office 365 under the first phase.
Microsoft corporate VP Julie Brill said Vole will expand the boundary plan to include the storage and processing of additional categories of personal data, including data provided when receiving technical support.
Microsoft had announced the intent to launch the EU boundary plan in March, which was around the same time when the US and EU had agreed to sign the Trans-Atlantic Data Policy Framework.
The framework was signed as large companies operating in the EU remained anxious over their customer data flowing outside European borders in wake of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced in 2018. These companies were primarily worried about attracting large penalties, mainly due to US surveillance laws, which could potentially flout GDPR over misusing or breaching personal data without consent.
