Full definition
Data residency is the requirement that specified data be stored and processed within a defined geographic jurisdiction. In healthcare, patient data is the typical scope. Some jurisdictions mandate data residency by law: Indonesia generally requires personal data to be stored locally; China's Data Security Law and PIPL impose data-residency on important data; Russia's data-localisation law requires Russian citizens' data to be processed in Russia; Quebec Law 25 imposes restrictions on cross-border transfer.
Beyond legal requirement, data residency is increasingly a procurement requirement even where not legally mandated — government contracts, sovereign-AI initiatives, and customer-trust-driven preferences. Some hospitals and ministries of health choose data-residency commitments for non-legal reasons.
For clinic technology: data residency requires multi-region cloud architecture (or hybrid cloud + on-prem). Modern platforms offer per-customer data-residency configuration — choose AWS Asia Pacific for ASEAN customers, Azure UAE Central for UAE customers, Google Cloud Singapore for Singapore customers, etc. Per-customer key management (BYOK) further strengthens residency.
MOVO-X supports configurable data residency per customer with appropriate cloud-region selection and per-customer key management for enterprise tier.
Where data residency is used
- Indonesia (general data-residency requirement)
- China (PIPL + DSL data-residency for important data)
- Russia (data-localisation law)
- Quebec (Law 25 cross-border restrictions)
- UAE (sector-specific residency requirements)
- Sovereign-AI initiatives globally
Types of data residency
Hard data-residency
All processing within jurisdiction; no exceptions.
Soft data-residency
Default in-jurisdiction with permitted cross-border transfer under safeguards.
Hybrid cloud
Specific data classes in-jurisdiction; less-sensitive in cloud.
On-prem
Customer-operated infrastructure in-jurisdiction.
BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)
Customer holds encryption keys; vendor cannot decrypt without customer.
Quantified benefits
- ▸Regulatory compliance in restrictive jurisdictions
- ▸Sovereign-AI / sovereign-data alignment
- ▸Customer trust
- ▸Reduced cross-border-transfer risk
Frequently asked
Does MOVO-X support data residency?+
Yes — configurable per-customer cloud region. AWS, Azure, Google Cloud regional options. BYOK on enterprise tier.
Performance impact of data residency?+
Negligible for in-region customers. Cross-region traffic for global organisations may have latency considerations; addressed with edge caching where appropriate.
On-prem option?+
For customers with strict requirements — government, sovereign-AI initiatives, regulated jurisdictions. MOVO-X enterprise supports on-prem deployment with appropriate licensing.
Cross-border transfer with safeguards?+
For jurisdictions that permit transfer with safeguards (GDPR via SCCs / adequacy / specific consent), supported with appropriate documentation.