By Laura Hyde |
Microsoft customers in Australia, India, Japan and the UK will be able to process data from Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions in their own countries by the end of 2025. This will make the option available to customers in 15 countries in total.
In 2026, Microsoft will expand in-country data processing for Copilot interactions to an additional 11 countries, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the USA.
“This offer is designed to enable customers, particularly those in government and highly regulated industries, to access Microsoft 365 Copilot with an additional option for governance, security and regulatory compliance,” writes Paul Lorimer, corporate vice president of Office 365 enterprise and cloud engineering at Microsoft, in a blog post on the Microsoft website.
Microsoft says in-country processing of Copilot interactions will provide customers with “greater control” over their data and improve performance by reducing latency.
“As every organisation evolves to become a Frontier Firm – human-led, agent-operated – trust is the foundation that powers AI transformation for governments and enterprises worldwide,” said Lorimer. “Where and how data is processed and stored by AI-powered services helps further reinforce that foundation of trust. Microsoft can offer customers a choice for the location of both AI data processing and residency, that can further at-scale adoption and deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot.”
Further details on the rollout timeline will be made available in the coming months.