Last year I wrote a post about data residency options for Office 365 customers in the UK. At the time, Microsoft was publishing a window for UK-based customers to request data moves between December 2016 and February 2017 but then the web page was updated to say “TBA”. Now, the how to request your data move page has been updated again (thanks to @gavinmorrison for the tip-off), giving UK customers six months between 15 March 2017 and 15 September 2017 to request a move to UK-hosting. Microsoft will then take up to 2 years to complete the move.
This is a one-time opportunity to request a data move (although tenants created after UK datacenter availability will already be hosted in the UK) but it’s only recommended if your organisation has strict data residency requirements. If you don’t see the option to move, it’s probably because:
- You’re using the old Office 365 Admin Center – the option is only available (under Settings, Organization Profile, Data Residency Option) in the preview Admin Center.
- Your tenant is not eligible for the move.
- All of your data is already located in the new region.
Once you’ve started the move process, it cannot be cancelled.