Meet data residency requirements across regions - design and implement Microsoft 365 Multi‑Geo so user and collaboration data is stored at rest in the right geography, with a controlled rollout and clear governance.
Microsoft 365 Multi‑Geo enables a single tenant to span multiple geographies, supporting organisations that need data stored at rest in more than one region. In Multi‑Geo, your tenant has a Primary Provisioned Geography and one or more Satellite Geographies. You can then configure where certain workloads store data at rest - typically using a user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL) and related geo location configuration for SharePoint/OneDrive and Teams chat data.
LW IT Solutions delivers Multi‑Geo as a structured, low-risk change programme. We assess eligibility and readiness, plan geo locations and PDL strategy, configure the tenant and workloads, validate user and collaboration behaviours, and manage rollout with clear communications. Multi‑Geo is not just a switch - there are operational impacts (support, reporting, compliance processes) and technical considerations (site location strategy, user migrations, and service boundaries). We ensure the solution is technically correct, properly documented, and supportable.
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Service Overview
Highlights
- Preferred Data Location strategy for user and collaboration workloads
- Design for primary and satellite geographies within a single tenant
- Controlled rollout with test plans and communications support
- Operational documentation for support teams and administrators
- Focus on residency posture, governance, and evidence for assurance
Business Benefits
- Meet data residency obligations while operating a single Microsoft 365 tenant
- Reduce compliance risk by aligning storage at rest to defined regional policy
- Improve audit readiness with documented Multi-Geo design decisions and controls
- Limit user disruption through phased rollout, testing, and controlled migrations
- Establish governance for future region expansion, acquisitions, and workforce movement
Typical use cases
- Global organisations needing local data residency for specific regions
- Businesses responding to contractual requirements for in-country data storage
- Enterprises consolidating tenants while maintaining regional residency controls
- Mergers and acquisitions where users must be placed into different geographies
- Organisations preparing for audits that require clear evidence of data residency controls
Objectives & deliverables
What Success Looks Like
- Meet regulatory or contractual data residency requirements across multiple regions
- Reduce risk by aligning user and collaboration data location to organisational policy
- Maintain a single global tenant while meeting local residency obligations
- Improve clarity for audits by documenting residency posture, controls, and operational processes
- Enable predictable governance for future acquisitions, new regions, or workforce movement
What You Get
- Multi‑Geo readiness report: eligibility considerations, risks, and recommended approach
- Architecture plan: geo locations, PDL strategy, and workload scope
- Implementation plan: phased rollout, test plan, and communications approach
- Configured Multi‑Geo settings for agreed workloads and geo locations (subject to licensing/eligibility)
- Operational pack: admin runbooks for PDL changes, geo management, and troubleshooting
- Post‑implementation review: confirm outcomes and establish ongoing governance cadence
How It Works
- Discovery - confirm residency requirements, workload scope, and organisational constraints.
- Assess - validate tenant readiness, prerequisites, and current data location posture.
- Design - define PDL governance, geo location model, rollout phases, and risk controls.
- Configure - implement geo locations and workload configuration with staged changes.
- Validate - run controlled tests and confirm data location behaviour and collaboration outcomes.
- Rollout - execute phased adoption and operational handover with documentation and runbooks.
Engagement Options
- Readiness and Design - eligibility assessment and Multi-Geo architecture and governance plan
- Pilot - configure Multi-Geo and validate a controlled user and site cohort
- Rollout - phased implementation across regions with migration planning and runbooks
- Govern - ongoing support for PDL changes, reporting, and Multi-Geo operational processes
Common Bundles
Customers who use this service often bundle with these services
Records Management
Implement Microsoft Purview records management with record declarations, regulatory records, disposition reviews, and governance so retention decisions remain auditable and defensible.
Microsoft Purview E5 eDiscovery & Audit Add-on Enablement
Enable Microsoft Purview eDiscovery Premium and Audit Premium add-ons with configured policies, case processes, roles and operational runbooks.
Microsoft 365 Tenant Build & Baseline
Stand up a Microsoft 365 tenant with secure identity foundations, baseline configuration, and documented governance that supports predictable administration.
Zero Trust Architecture & Hardening
Design and implement a Microsoft aligned Zero Trust programme covering identity, devices, least privilege access, segmentation, and continuous monitoring.
SharePoint Governance & Information Architecture
SharePoint governance and information architecture defining permissions, site lifecycle, taxonomy, templates, and reporting to reduce sprawl and improve findability.
Microsoft Teams Governance & Optimisation
Microsoft Teams governance defining policies, lifecycle management, naming, templates, reporting, and security alignment to control sprawl and support consistent collaboration.
Frequently Asked Questions
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