🌍 Data Residency: What is it and why it's so important

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Hello there! 

I'm Elena from Communardo Products. As more organizations move their collaboration tools and critical business operations to the cloud, one key consideration is increasingly shaping digital strategy and procurement decisions: data residency.

Where your data lives — and who has jurisdiction over it — has a direct impact on your legal compliance, security posture, and employee privacy. For companies using Atlassian Cloud tools like Jira and Confluence, understanding data residency isn’t just a technical detail, it’s a matter of strategic importance.

This article will help you understand what data residency is, why it matters, how it intersects with data privacy regulations, and what practical steps you can take to align your Atlassian Cloud environment with your organization’s compliance goals.

What is Data Residency?

Data residency refers to the physical or geographic location where an organization’s data is stored and processed. In the cloud context, this means the data centers where vendors like Atlassian host your content, including files, tickets, pages, and potentially user data.

It’s closely tied to, but not the same as:

• Data sovereignty: which relates to the legal frameworks governing data in a specific country.
• Data localization: a stricter form that may require certain data to never leave a region or country.

via GIPHY

Why Data Residency Matters

For mid-to-large enterprises, the implications of data residency go beyond simple geography. Data residency affects multiple domains:

1. Regulatory Compliance

Different countries enforce different privacy and data protection regulations. Enterprises operating in or serving regions like the European Union, Switzerland or the United States often must ensure compliance with local laws such as:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the EU, which emphasizes individual privacy rights and imposes strict rules on cross-border data transfers.
• nFADP (New Federal Act on Data Protection) in Switzerland, which modernizes Swiss data protection law in line with GDPR, requiring transparency, purpose limitation, and ensuring data transfers abroad are legally compliant.
• CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) in the U.S., which mandates transparency and control for Californian consumers over how their personal data is used.

Non-compliance can result in financial penalties, legal exposure, and reputational damage. Ensuring your data stays in a specific region can help mitigate these risks.

2. Risk Management & Trust

Knowing where your data lives reduces uncertainty and strengthens digital trust, with employees, customers, and auditors. This matters even more for organizations in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or the public sector.

Data residency controls help you:

• Avoid exposure to foreign surveillance laws
• Mitigate cloud vendor lock-in risks
• Address board-level concerns on sovereignty

3. Strategic Alignment

For many enterprises, digital trust and data transparency are now business differentiators. Demonstrating compliance and control over data flows supports key priorities:

• Expanding into new markets (especially Europe or Switzerland)
• Partnering with security-conscious clients
• Attracting talent in jurisdictions with strict privacy norms

In short: data residency is no longer a compliance box: it’s a strategic pillar for digital trust.

Atlassian Cloud Plans Supporting Data Residency

Atlassian now includes data residency controls in all paid cloud plans:

• Cloud Standard: Offers baseline data residency support
• Cloud Premium: Adds advanced admin insights, automation, and reliability
• Cloud Enterprise: Includes fine-grained admin control, sandboxing, and organization-wide data policies

Supported Regions

As of 2024, Atlassian allows you to pin your product data to the following regions:

• United States
• European Union (Dublin, Frankfurt)
• Germany (Frankfurt)
• Switzerland (Zurich)
• United Kingdom (London)
• Canada (Central)
• Australia (Sydney)
• Japan (Tokyo)
• Singapore
• South Korea
• India

This allows in-scope data like Jira issues, Confluence pages, and attachments to remain within a specific jurisdiction.

via GIPHY

What Data Is Covered by Atlassian’s Data Residency?

It’s important to note that not all data is subject to data residency controls. Atlassian generally supports residency for:

• Product content (Jira issues, Confluence pages)
• User-generated attachments
• Certain metadata (e.g., comments, descriptions)

However, app data (data generated by third-party Marketplace apps) often resides outside of these regions unless the app developer specifically supports data residency.

The App Data Gap — and What It Means for You

Many enterprises heavily rely on Marketplace apps to extend the functionality of Atlassian products. Yet, not all app vendors support data residency. This means a customer who has pinned their Jira instance to the EU might still have app data stored in the U.S. or another non-compliant region. This gap introduces potential compliance and governance risks and is a critical area to investigate when vetting apps.

How Communardo Helps

At Communardo Products, we build Marketplace apps that are enterprise-ready, secure, and compliant with modern cloud standards. We are committed to supporting data residency and cloud security requirements.

Easily meet GDPR/DSGVO, nFADP, CCPA, and other regulations with Viewtracker’s built-in privacy modes. With flexible privacy settings, you can ensure your sensitive data and analytics remain private from other users.

Our apps such as Viewtracker – Analytics for Confluence and User Profiles for Jira/Confluence are specifically built with data privacy and residency in mind. Both apps manage personal data such as user profiles and activity insights, and are engineered to handle this information extremely securely. We ensure that data processing aligns with your compliance goals and regional regulations.

What to Consider When Making Decisions About Data Residency

When evaluating your cloud environment, here are key considerations:

1. Audit Current Data Locations
   • Use Atlassian’s admin tools to check where your core product data resides.
   • Review your app portfolio and request data residency statements from vendors.
2. Understand Regulatory Obligations
   • Map your organization’s compliance requirements (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) to the data stored in Atlassian tools.
3. Engage with Stakeholders
   • Bring together legal, compliance, IT, and procurement to align on your organization’s data residency needs.
4. Plan for App Dependencies
   • Ensure key Marketplace apps either support data residency or have a roadmap to do so.
   • Consider alternative solutions if an app doesn’t meet residency requirements.
5. Monitor Atlassian’s Roadmap
   • Atlassian is actively expanding its data residency capabilities. Stay informed on new supported regions or admin tools.

Final Thoughts

Data residency is no longer a niche concern. It is a fundamental part of operating securely and responsibly in the cloud. As your organization evaluates or expands its use of Atlassian Cloud, take the time to understand where your data lives, including both Atlassian-hosted content and third-party app data.

With a clear data residency strategy, you can stay compliant, build customer trust, and prepare your business for the future of cloud collaboration.

[Mia Tamm]

Hi @Elena_Communardo Products

Thank you for this clear and comprehensive deep dive into data residency — it’s exactly the kind of guidance organizations need as they navigate cloud compliance and privacy requirements.

At Simpleasyty, we share your conviction that where and how data is stored should never be an afterthought. That’s why our app, Runs in Atlassian, was built with a strict “zero data egress” philosophy: all content lives solely within Atlassian’s infrastructure, so customers retain full control and visibility over their information.

We’re committed to enterprise-grade security and alignment with regional regulations, and your post underscores why this approach matters. If you or anyone in the community is evaluating third-party apps, we’d love to connect and show how Runs in Atlassian can help maintain a truly compliant environment without sacrificing functionality or performance.

Thanks again for shining a spotlight on such a critical topic!

Warm regards,

— Mia Tamm from Simpleasyty Team

[Elena_Communardo Products]

Hi @Mia Tamm ,thank you for your thoughtful comment and for contributing to this important conversation around data residency and cloud compliance.

We fully agree: data privacy, transparency, and control are critical, especially as organizations navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes. At Communardo Products, we've built our apps with exactly these priorities in mind.

It’s great to see other vendors like Simpleasyty also prioritizing secure, compliant cloud practices. The more transparency and alignment we can bring to the Atlassian ecosystem, the better for everyone.

Thanks again for engaging — and looking forward to continued collaboration and shared learning in the community!

Warm regards,
Elena from Communardo Products