Why should management be particularly interested in data right now?
Data residency may seem abstract to business management, but it is a central issue in terms of risks, costs, data protection, and business continuity.
The ever-changing geopolitical situation, regulation, and the proliferation of cloud services are forcing organizations to consider data sovereignty: where data is processed and which legislation and governance models apply to it.
In practice, this also means which data centers and regions are used to store and process data. The situation is also being transformed by Microsoft’s planned data center capacity in Finland (estimated for 2027), which expands the options between on-premises data centers, the cloud, and hybrid solutions.
Above IT CEO Juha Kari and Consigliere Pasi Jalonen debunk myths typically associated with data storage and management and explain how to approach the issue.
Myth: Data residency is not a management issue
“A common myth is that this is a task for IT, but that is false. An organization’s strategy, as well as its business operations, determine data residency. Data placement is a significant cost that management should be interested in,” says Kari.
“IT handles the practical work, but the investment in an on-premises data center or, for example, the scalable capacity offered by a cloud service must be defined strategically,” Jalonen adds.
According to Jalonen, a good partner is often a key asset for an organization’s own IT management:
“In a modern organization, IT has many responsibilities, time is limited, and expertise can be fragmented. An expert partner provides support that IT can rely on. A partner also ensures that migration projects are completed properly and do not get sidelined by daily operations.”
Myth: I cannot influence which data center our data goes to
“False: contrary to popular belief, capacity can be reserved from a specific region through Microsoft Azure, for example, allowing you to influence the data’s location. That is why the data centers being built by Microsoft in Finland are an interesting opportunity,” Kari says.
According to Kari, data residency is a matter of responsibility: in an on-premises data center, updates and hardware maintenance must be handled by someone anyway – either by the organization itself or through a service model.
From the perspective of continuity and emergency situations, it is also crucial who controls access and administrator rights, and how responsibilities have been agreed upon with the partner.
Myth: Hybrid technology is expensive
Storing data inevitably incurs costs, regardless of how it is managed, Kari reminds us:
“An on-premises data center requires a large initial investment in particular, as well as maintenance, electricity, and other infrastructure. An outsourced solution, on the other hand, is perceived as more expensive on average, but costs are distributed more evenly and scaling up or down is easier,” he says.
According to Jalonen, hybrid cloud technology is no longer more expensive than on-premises servers. For example, Azure Local provides services and ways to run cloud workloads hybridly in an organization’s own facilities. The cost level is comparable to that of on-premises servers.
In addition to cost, business characteristics also become central: does a function require particularly low latency, and can some workloads be run more affordably in the cloud?
Myth: The hybrid transition is a complex project
Which solution is the right choice for an organization: an on-premises data center, cloud capacity, or a hybrid model in between? Many organizations are certainly constantly assessing the changing situation.
“It depends on the organization’s situation, the need for scalability, and future prospects. All solutions have their pros and cons. An experienced partner helps form an overall picture, based on which the most functional and cost-effective solution can be found,” Kari says.
“Our principle is to build the competence of the organization’s own IT management so that data management is smoother in the future. We do not see it as a loss for us, but rather as an increase in the customer’s overall resources,” Jalonen continues.
Myth: The transition process is difficult and we are hopelessly behind
False. According to the Above IT duo, you should not be paralyzed even if you feel you are behind in data matters:
“The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, not all at once. You should approach data placement with a low threshold and start exploring options. Choose a partner you can trust. Help is available,” Kari summarizes.
Do you need an expert perspective on mapping out a data residency strategy? Contact us to discuss further!
The article was published on Tivi.fi as a commercial collaboration between Above IT and Microsoft.