In September 2026, Microsoft introduced an important change to Microsoft 365 data residency. Swiss companies should check whether their data will continue to be stored in Switzerland. For our customers, we have already made the necessary adjustments.
What has changed with Microsoft 365?
Since 14 September 2026, a new setting called “Store Microsoft 365 customer data in-country” has been available in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
This setting determines whether certain Microsoft 365 customer data must continue to be stored within the customer’s country or may be stored regionally within the EU Data Boundary.
The change affects eligible Microsoft 365 tenants in Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway and Sweden.
The services affected include:
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online and OneDrive
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat
What does this mean for Swiss companies?
If the new setting is disabled, Microsoft may store the affected customer data outside Switzerland, but within the EU Data Boundary, from 14 December 2026 onwards.
This does not mean that data will automatically be moved. However, the previous commitment to national data residency will no longer be guaranteed for the affected data.
If the setting is enabled, national data residency will remain in place for the customer data covered by the setting.
Microsoft notes that moving data back to Switzerland at a later stage may take approximately six months.
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What do companies need to do now?
Affected companies should review the setting before 14 December 2026.
The setting can be found in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under:
Settings → Org settings → Organization profile → Data location → Commitments
There, the “Store Microsoft 365 customer data in-country” option can be enabled if required.
The change does not affect all Microsoft 365 tenants in the same way. Separate rules apply in particular to Advanced Data Residency and Multi-Geo.
We have already taken action for our customers
We have proactively reviewed the new Microsoft setting for our affected customers and, where possible, have already made the necessary adjustments.
If further action is required in individual cases, we will contact the affected customers directly and take care of the next steps.
Conclusion
The new Microsoft 365 setting highlights the importance of continuously monitoring changes to cloud services. By making the necessary adjustments in good time, companies can ensure that the affected Microsoft 365 customer data continues to be stored in Switzerland.
We keep a close eye on changes like these and take care of the necessary adjustments for our customers at an early stage.
