As you may have heard by now, you have the option to move your Office 365 to a data center in Canada, though you may still be wondering if it’s worth it or not to do so. I want to give you some tips that will hopefully help you decide one way or the other. Unfortunately while this move is attractive enough to Microsoft to put some major effort into this venture, it may not be the right decision for your company. Learn more about where exactly you should be keeping your data.
Just Give Me the Facts
Essentially you need to know that you have until October 31, 2016 to decide whether or not you want to move your core customer data to a Canada datacenter. If you choose to do so, the move will be complete within approximately two years of your sign up. For some organizations, this may be a mandatory enrollment that comes from Microsoft, in which case you will need to find out if these requirements apply to your business. You may have also received some type of notice as well that you would need to move your data. If you’re looking for your company location and requirements, you can find it through the Office 365 admin center. You would be able to make the request to move the data in the Organization Profile section should it be mandatory. You can see the terms of this move here.
Why Canada?
Location matters when it comes to speed, so it’s good to know why US companies would be migrating their information, at a considerable expense, to Canada. Believe it or not, Canada actually does a good job at keeping people’s information safe due to excellent security practices. There’s also no pressure from Canada’s government to give up information about their customers. Canada is also uses renewable energy, which is good news considering how much electricity a data center can suck up. It creates a global presence for certain companies who want to stay relevant to companies outside the US.
Why Not Canada?
Even though Canada is an attractive option for Microsoft, I don’t necessarily recommend requesting this move for the average small business. Despite the fact that transmission speed has increased significantly, the location of your data does make a big difference. By moving it, you may be reducing the chances that your data will find the optimal location, regardless of whether or not it’s in use or at rest. There are a great deal of positives for company’s bottom lines with going to Canada, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for your company specifically.
What Should I Do?
If you’re not required to move, then your best bet is likely to do nothing at all. You only have to opt into moving up to Canada if you’re not required to do so. If you have questions about where the best place for you is, my company is busy looking into all the details. By preparing for this deadline, we’re looking into both the positives and negatives of keeping certain businesses where they are and moving other businesses up to Canada. My staff is dedicated to finding you the best placement possible for your data, the one that allows you to view, retrieve and access everything as quickly as humanly possible. Trust in us to get it done right the first time.
Compunet InfoTech is the trusted choice when it comes to staying ahead of the trends in data storage. Contact us at (604) 986-8170 or send us an email at info@compunet.ca for more information.
