Microsoft completes landmark EU Data Boundary, offering enhanced data residency and transparency

At Microsoft, we remain committed to enabling European businesses to thrive by providing the tools and support necessary to drive their success and give our customers throughout the European Union more control over their data. To fulfill these goals, today Microsoft is announcing that it has completed the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud, an industry-leading solution that stores and processes public sector and commercial customer data in the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). 

With the completion of the boundary, our European commercial and public sector customers are now able to store and process their customer data and pseudonymized personal data for Microsoft core cloud services — including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and most Azure services — within the EU and EFTA regions. In addition, Microsoft will store professional services data from technical support interactions for the core cloud services within the EU and EFTA regions.  

This milestone is the culmination of a massive, multi-year engineering effort across hundreds of Microsoft product teams and thousands of developers around the globe. The EU Data Boundary reflects Microsoft’s commitment to delivering unmatched cloud services that support European transparency, protect privacy, and enhance customer control. It’s a reflection of our commitment to Europe and is part of a wide range of residency capabilities and solutions we provide to our customers.  

The EU Data Boundary has been delivered to our customers in three phases: 

• Microsoft launched Phase 1 in January 2023, enabling the storage and processing of customer data for core services, including most of the Microsoft Cloud suite of online services: Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Azure.
• Phase 2, launched in January 2024, expanded the scope of the EU Data Boundary to include pseudonymized personal data, ensuring even data that is pseudonymized to prevent direct identification remains within these regions.
• Phase 3, with the completion of the EU Data Boundary in February 2025, ensures that when customers in the EU and EFTA request technical support for services such as Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Dynamics 365, the professional services data provided by customers (such as logs) and generated by Microsoft (such as support case notes) are now stored within the EU and EFTA regions. For certain Azure services, additional customer action may be required to obtain the professional services data storage commitment, which is documented here.

Building on decades of commitment to Europe

Microsoft’s dedication to Europe spans more than 40 years. Over the past 16 months, we have invested more than $20 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure across the continent to expand our local options and meet growing demand.

In addition, Microsoft offers a suite of solutions to provide our customers with greater control over their data’s location and to fulfill Microsoft’s fundamental principles and approach to transparency, accountability, and data protection:

• Across our products, Microsoft offers more granular controls over the location of Microsoft 365 customer data through Microsoft 365 Advanced Data Residency.
• Our Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty enables specific public sector customers to build and digitally transform Azure workloads while meeting sovereignty, compliance, security, and policy requirements.
• We continually innovate to meet customer needs and lead in transparency and accountability through our European Cloud Principles.

Taken together, these efforts reflect our ongoing focus on supporting Europe’s innovation, growth, and technology needs as the region moves into an increasingly digital future.

Advancing global cybersecurity with the Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft is deeply committed to cybersecurity, prioritizing the protection of our customers and the broader global digital ecosystem. Through the Secure Future Initiative (SFI), Microsoft integrates security into every aspect of our operations, from product design to daily practices. This global effort is essential in combating increasingly complex cyberattacks, ensuring a safer digital environment for our European customers and organizations worldwide.

In limited security instances that require a coordinated global response, essential data may be transferred with robust protections that safeguard customer data. In these circumstances, Microsoft provides transparent information and implements comprehensive security measures, including encryption, strict access controls, and other resilient protections. This global intelligence allows Microsoft to provide real-time alerts and security response mitigation, ensuring customers remain protected no matter where a threat originates. Customers can learn more at: What is the EU Data Boundary?

At Microsoft, we believe cloud technology can be innovative, secure, and built to honor European values. The EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud is another example of how we are working to empower European organizations with the solutions and tools they need to grow and thrive in a modern, secure cloud environment.

While our products and services continue to be compliant with EU regulations, we are dedicated to listening to our customers in all parts of the world—and will continuously evolve to go beyond compliance where necessary to meet our customers’ unique needs.

Learn more about the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud.

Tags: data privacy, EU, European Union

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