Data Sovereignty in Web Hosting: Why Businesses Are Prioritizing Local Data Storage

[johny899]

Web hosting might not be the most interesting topic, but the issue of data sovereignty is providing some necessary highlight - but why? It is where is my data stored, who has access to it, what laws govern it, etc. This is something being recognized by government and business.

When I first began hosting a website, I didn't care where the servers were located, I just wanted cheap and fast. Now I think - if my data is stored somewhere that has little to no privacy laws? This is why data sovereignty is becoming a bigger focus to more people.

What Data Sovereignty Means​

Data sovereignty means that your data is subject to the laws of the country where it is stored - simple enough right? It seems that way, but it can get complicated.

Consider the following:

• GDPR in Europe promotes stronger privacy protections.
• In the US, the government has relatively easier access to your data.
• India and Australia are even creating their own laws about data.

When you are getting visitors to your website from around the world how do you keep track of what's happening?

The Change of Hosting Companies​

Now hosting companies let you select a server location. This is not just marketing, this is because of customer demand for local hosting to be able to comply with the right laws.

So eventually my client and I went through the process of switching hosting companies to have their servers hosted in Europe because of the GDPR laws. Was it work? Yes. Was it worth it? Totally. We both felt more comfortable about our data being processed there.

Advantages of Data Sovereignty​

Why does data sovereignty matter?

• Better legal protection of our data.
• Less risk of violating law, should the location abide to the laws of the country.
• Better transparency and trust from customers, as we both want to keep our data private.