I would suggest that this is one of the major questions we get asked about when it comes to the Cloud. Where is your important data stored? This question is one that many companies including Google have been unable to answer. It is one that is particularly relevant in the UK, with some companies holding data for UK based businesses in the US where different laws apply. This is off putting to many businesses. Cloud Hypermarket is UK based but with the US providing the biggest battlefield for Cloud services, occurrences in the states are being watched with interest from around the world.

Interestingly, with companies in the UK being concerned about data being stored in the US, US based companies are worried about their data leaving the US. There are several options such as HyperOffice who can guarantee data is kept within the states but until very recently, of the Cloud giants, only Microsoft were offering you the information on where your data is stored. This has proved to be a massive card in the battle for cloud supremacy and one of the major reasons that Microsoft has been able to gain ground on the Google Apps Premier offering.

Until Now?

I’m not sure about that but Google’s deal with LA last year has been a landmark for sure.  With 34,000 users (and one hell of a marketing hit – see the video) I suppose Google guaranteeing that the City of LA’s data with remain in the is cost effective at $50 per user per year. It also demonstrates the recognition of a need by Google which has not been publicly recognised for businesses. Colorado have followed suit by opting into the ‘Google Apps for Government’ package, holding data within the US and will bring Google a windfall of some 45,000 users.

The UK and businesses however will have to settle for their data being held ‘somewhere’ if they opt for Google Apps. Whilst the Microsoft located datacentre method offers that extra bit of compliance for companies who need to know this information. However, perhaps the most important thing here is a sense of peace of mind. Knowing where your data is held physically gives many people a feeling of tangibility in small businesses. It is understandable that small business owners who have worked so hard to get the business which that data represents would want such piece of mind

For added piece of mind, why not use Message Labs archive for Microsoft BPOS, a full cloud archive solution for BPOS. If you are not a cloud customer then why not compare the services now!