Azure & Office 365

SharePoint Online is a cloud-based service that enables organizations to create, share, and manage content, knowledge, and applications. SharePoint Online is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of products, which also includes Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, Microsoft Teams, and other services. However, not all customers have the same data residency requirements or preferences. Some customers may need or want to store their SharePoint Online data in a specific country or region, for various reasons such as compliance, performance, or sovereignty. That is why Microsoft offers different options for SharePoint Residency, which are:

• Data Residency Commitments
• Advanced Data Residency
• Multi-Geo Capabilities

In this article, we will explain what each option means, how to purchase and use them, and what are the benefits and limitations of each option.

Data Residency Commitments

Data Residency Commitments are the default option for SharePoint Online customers who sign up for Microsoft 365 in one of the countries or regions included in the Local Region Geography, the European Union, or the United States. These customers can expect that their SharePoint Online data will be stored at rest in the same country or region as their sign-up location, unless otherwise specified in the Privacy and Security Product Terms. For example, if a customer signs up for Microsoft 365 in Canada, their SharePoint Online data will be stored in Canada, unless they choose a different option.

The Data Residency Commitments option covers the following types of SharePoint Online data:

• SharePoint Online site content and the files stored within that site
• Files uploaded to OneDrive for Business
• Microsoft 365 Video services
• Office in a browser
• Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
• Visio Pro for Microsoft 365

The Data Residency Commitments option does not require any additional purchase or configuration. It is included in the Microsoft 365 subscription and applies to all users in the tenant. However, it does not guarantee that the SharePoint Online data will never leave the country or region of origin, as there may be some scenarios where the data may be accessed or moved by Microsoft for operational or legal purposes.

Advanced Data Residency

Advanced Data Residency is an add-on option for SharePoint Online customers who want to have more control and assurance over their data residency. With Advanced Data Residency, customers can get expanded coverage of Microsoft 365 workloads and customer data, committed data residency for local country or region datacenter regions, and prioritized tenant migration services. This means that customers can choose to store their SharePoint Online data in a specific datacenter region within their Local Region Geography or Expanded Local Region Geography, and Microsoft will not move or access their data outside of that region, unless required by law or with the customer’s consent.

The Advanced Data Residency option covers the following types of SharePoint Online data, in addition to the ones covered by the Data Residency Commitments option:

• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Defender for Office P1 and Exchange Online Protection
• Viva Connections
• Viva Topics
• Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard and Premium)
• Data Retention
• Microsoft Purview Records Management
• Sensitivity Labels
• Data Loss Prevention
• Office Message Encryption
• Information Barriers

The Advanced Data Residency option requires an additional purchase and configuration. Customers must meet the following prerequisites to be eligible to purchase the Advanced Data Residency add-on:

• The Tenant Default Geography must be one of the countries or regions included in the Local Region Geography or Expanded Local Region Geography, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Qatar, South Korea, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.
• Customers must have licenses for one or more of the following products: Microsoft 365 F1, F3, E3, or E5; Office 365 F3, E1, E3, or E5; Exchange Online Plan 1 or Plan 2; OneDrive for Business Plan 1 or Plan 2; SharePoint Online Plan 1 or Plan 2; Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium.
• Customers must cover 100% of paid seats in the tenant with the Advanced Data Residency add-on license for the tenant to receive data residency for the Advanced Data Residency workloads.

Customers can purchase the Advanced Data Residency add-on through their Microsoft account representative or partner. After purchasing the add-on, customers can request a tenant migration to their preferred datacenter region through the Microsoft 365 admin center or by contacting Microsoft support. The migration process may take several weeks or months, depending on the size and complexity of the tenant. During the migration, customers may experience some temporary impacts on their SharePoint Online services, such as video playback, search, or synchronization.

Multi-Geo Capabilities

Multi-Geo Capabilities is another add-on option for SharePoint Online customers who have a global presence and need to store their SharePoint Online data in multiple countries or regions, to meet different data residency requirements or preferences across their organization. With Multi-Geo Capabilities, customers can assign users of SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business to any Satellite Geography supported by Multi-Geo, and their SharePoint Online data will reside in India, Japan, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. Customers can also use the Default Geography as a Satellite Geography, if it is different from their Tenant Default Geography.

The Multi-Geo Capabilities option does not guarantee that the SharePoint Online data will never leave the Satellite Geography, as there may be some scenarios where the data may be accessed or moved by Microsoft for operational or legal purposes. For more information, see the Location of Customer Data at Rest for Core Online Services section in the Privacy and Security Product Terms.

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