When your organization stores data in Microsoft 365, that data lives on physical servers somewhere in the world. For many Canadian organizations, especially those in regulated industries or the public sector, knowing where that data is located is not optional. It is a compliance requirement.
What Microsoft Considers "Data"
Microsoft distinguishes between several types of data in their services:
- Customer data: All content you upload to your Microsoft 365 tenancy, including files, videos, images, and other documents
- Personal data: Information that identifies a specific user, such as names, locations, profile pictures, and identification numbers
- Professional services data: Data you provide Microsoft when seeking support or services
- Administrator data: Information provided while subscribing to Microsoft services
- Payment data: Payment information used for Microsoft purchases
For data residency purposes, the focus is primarily on customer data and personal data.
Where Is Your Data Located?
Your data location is set when your Microsoft 365 tenancy is configured, based on your billing address. Previously, Canada was not an option for data storage, which created compliance problems for Canadian public-sector organizations. That has changed.
To view your current data residency location:
- Log into the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre
- Navigate to Settings, then Org Settings in the left-hand navigation
- Select Organizational Profile
- Click Data location
What If Your Data Is in the Wrong Location?
Here is the difficult reality: Microsoft closed the data migration period for Canada that previously allowed organizations to move data residency within their existing tenancy. If your data location does not meet your compliance requirements, the current path is creating a new tenancy and migrating data manually.
Regroove handles both migration approaches. A lift-and-shift migration replicates your current environment in the new tenancy. A collaborative reorganization uses the migration as an opportunity to restructure and improve how your files and systems are organized, which is often the better long-term choice.
If you have not checked your data residency location recently, it is worth doing. If your data is not where it needs to be, we can help you plan the path forward.