Moving to European providers

Two questions decide where a business's data stands: where it is kept, and which company holds it. A data centre in London answers the first and not the second, because a provider answers to the law of the countries it is subject to wherever it keeps the data. Under the US CLOUD Act, for example, a provider of email or storage services must meet its US obligations to preserve or disclose data in its possession, custody or control, whether that data is held inside or outside the United States. A provider based in the UK, the EU or Switzerland puts both answers in Europe, and you can check each on the provider's own pages. The move itself is ordinary IT work done in order: an inventory first, then email, files, calendars and sign-in moved, staff shown what changes, a planned cut-over, and checks afterwards that everything arrived.

Sources: 18 U.S.C. § 2713, added by the CLOUD Act in 2018 · ICO: which transfers UK adequacy regulations cover · GOV.UK: the UK-US data bridge · ICO: a brief guide to international transfers

An inventory first

Every mailbox, shared mailbox, drive, calendar and account written down, with who uses it, what it holds, and the apps and devices that connect to it, before anything moves.

Email

Mailboxes, aliases and shared inboxes moved to a provider based in the UK, the EU or Switzerland, with past mail brought across and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records set for the new service.

Files

Shared drives and personal folders moved with their folder structure, and the sharing permissions mapped, so people find their work where they expect it and nobody gains access they did not have.

Calendars and contacts

Calendars, shared calendars, meeting rooms and contacts moved, and set up again for the people who used them.

Sign-in

Accounts and multi-factor authentication set up on the new service, and every app that signs in with the old one found and reconnected, each checked before the cut-over.

Your staff

A short written guide for each person on what changes and what does not, and someone to ask in the days after the move.

The cut-over

A date agreed with you, the old service kept running alongside until the new one is confirmed working, and mail delivery switched by changing your domain's records.

Checks afterwards

Mail flow, file counts, calendars and sign-in checked against the inventory, the old service closed only when you agree, and the finished inventory handed to you.

• You want to know which company holds your email and files, and in which country
• A customer, a funder or an insurer has asked where your data is kept
• Your email and files platform is up for renewal and you want to choose deliberately
• You are setting up a new business or a new office and can choose providers from the start

1. 01

   Review

   The free review, done remotely: what you run, what is exposed, and where the risk actually sits, written down. The document is yours regardless of what happens next.

2. 02

   Plan and price

   A prioritised plan, sized to your business rather than pulled off a menu, and a fixed price in writing that names what is included: monthly for a plan, once for a project. Nothing starts before you have seen both.

3. 03

   Put right

   The urgent fixed, the risky hardened, and the basics set up properly rather than left half configured.

4. 04

   Run

   On a plan: ongoing support, monitoring and security with one accountable point of contact, and the plan revisited as the business changes rather than left to drift out of date.

Is it unlawful to keep our data with a US provider?

No. UK GDPR allows it with the right safeguard. Since 12 October 2023, UK adequacy regulations have covered transfers to US organisations that take part in the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, and other transfers can use the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement with a transfer risk assessment. For most businesses, moving is a choice about where data is kept and which law can reach it, not a legal requirement; some contracts and sectors set their own rules, and the inventory records them.

Do we have to move everything at once?

No. Email, files, calendars and sign-in can move together or one at a time, in the order the inventory suggests. Until each part moves, we look after it where it is.

Will anything be lost in the move?

Nothing is closed until it has been checked. The old service keeps running until the new one is confirmed working, and the checks afterwards compare what arrived with the inventory. Anything that cannot move, such as a feature the new provider does not offer, is named in the plan before you agree to it.

Which provider would we move to?

The one that fits what you need, chosen with you after the inventory, from providers based in the UK, the EU or Switzerland. We name each provider with its home country and where it keeps your data, from its own pages, before you decide. Where we have an affiliate link with a provider, we say so, as our affiliate disclosure explains.

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