Tresorit’s data residency options extended with four new locations

Data residency is increasingly relevant in the complex global regulatory landscape. More often than not, organizations nowadays need to store their data regionally to comply with country and industry-specific requirements. By introducing four additional data residency options – in Singapore, the Netherlands, Dubai and Brazil – Tresorit empowers companies to extend control over their data to new locations and fulfill local data protection regulations easily in even more countries.

Tresorit’s data residency options are an additional building block in our comprehensive security strategy. Our end-to-end-encrypted Content Collaboration Platform supports companies in their growth ambitions, while easing security and data protection concerns for their compliance staff. Admins can already choose from twelve locations worldwide and assign data centers to their users and teams according to regional policies.

Why the question of data residency is essential

While the cloud can pave many an organization’s way towards the global market, it often implies that sensitive data is also stored "globally". Looking behind the scenes, this practice can have severe consequences: Global cloud providers often distribute data around several cost-efficient data centers worldwide and rarely inform their customers if data sets are moved between locations or are handed out to third parties.

As a result, many customers lose control over their data if they don’t know and can’t decide exactly where it is stored and how it is handled. Let us break down the risks a bit further: here are three key examples showing why it is important to be able to precisely define where your most valuable company data is kept.

1. Staying compliant with increasing and ever-changing regulatory requirements

It won’t come as a surprise that the security and data protection concerns that go hand in hand with digitalization are spurring a trend towards stricter regulations. The number of data protection provisions imposed by countries and different sector associations is on the rise. In this regard, the GDPR being effective since 2018 has set the tone for similar regulations. More and more countries are following the policies laid down in the European data protection bible.

Moreover, these regulations are getting more and more complex and strict when it comes to protecting personal data. A quick look at the severe GDPR fines from the last years clearly shows the gravity of the situation: $126 million fines have been imposed by data protection regulators under the GDPR regime since 2018.

Companies can keep up with the newly adopted and constantly changing regulations if they can decide where their data resides. Tresorit already offers twelve data locations across the globe that businesses can choose from and maintain local compliance hassle-free.

2. Overcoming the compliance fatigue

According to a global study, 44% of US IT professionals bemoan the increasing compliance requirements as the primary cause for their stress at the workplace. How can they be relieved from the high workload and resulting stress from ever-increasing compliance regulations, though? The survey findings suggest the following: IT pros should be provided with the means to regain transparency and control over company data.

Thanks to Tresorit’s Admin Center, security professionals can have an overview of company data and define on a team level where their data is stored. By removing a big portion of their compliance concerns, they can fulfill their role as a business bodyguard with more focus and less stress.

3. Refusing data requests from authorities

Server location does imply further legal consequences on how the provider can use and issue your data to other parties. In other words, this means that data stored in a specific region is subject to the respective country's jurisdiction. But what impact does this have on how your personal data and intellectual property are protected?

Let's take a well-known example: the US CLOUD Act allows federal law enforcement to access data stored by US companies. This can lead to serious data breaches, privacy violations, and even the unwanted disclosure of business secrets. This is yet another reason to choose privacy-focused European providers - who can offer technical and regulatory guarantees - over US tech giants and their seemingly cost-free services.

If companies regain the freedom of choice when it comes to data residency by using a GDPR-compliant service like Tresorit, they won't be vulnerable to the risks that come with excessive cloud provider insight any longer. Being in control of your data means you can protect your most precious data assets from disclosure, loss, and theft.

Growing globally, storing locally

While Tresorit’s end-to-end-encrypted content collaboration platform enables companies to collaborate across borders and internationalize their business, data residency options represent a further step towards "gaining a foothold" regionally.

By being able to select the location for their data, companies can stay fully compliant with local data regulations – from now on in four further countries, namely Singapore, the Netherlands, Dubai, and Brazil. Why is this important? Because data residency and sovereignty are the way to go to maintaining the often-cited competitive edge in a data-driven world.