Professional Cloud ArchitectManage implementationHard
A global software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider is migrating its application to Google Cloud. The application serves customers worldwide, and the provider needs to ensure that customer data is stored and processed in compliance with various regional data sovereignty laws. Specifically, they need to ensure that data for European customers remains within Europe, and data for Asian customers remains within Asia. Which Google Cloud storage solution, combined with appropriate configuration, best supports these multi-regional data sovereignty requirements?
- ABigQuery datasets configured as single-region in 'us-central1' for all data.
- BCloud Storage with a multi-regional bucket located in the US.
- CCloud Spanner configured with a global instance across all regions.
- DCloud Storage buckets, with separate regional buckets for Europe and Asia.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Cloud Storage buckets, with separate regional buckets for Europe and Asia.
To comply with regional data sovereignty laws, data must be physically located within specific geographic boundaries. Using separate regional Cloud Storage buckets (e.g., one in 'europe-west1' and another in 'asia-east1') allows the SaaS provider to ensure that European customer data stays in Europe and Asian customer data stays in Asia.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Configuring BigQuery datasets as single-region in 'us-central1' would store all data in the US, violating European and Asian data sovereignty laws.
- B. A multi-regional bucket in the US will store data across US regions, violating European and Asian data sovereignty laws.
- C. Cloud Spanner with a global instance distributes data across multiple regions globally, which does not guarantee data stays within specific continental boundaries for sovereignty purposes.
Regional Data Sovereignty
Regional data sovereignty requires that data be stored and processed within the geographic borders of a specific country or continent, often due to legal or regulatory mandates.
- Achieved by selecting specific regional locations for cloud resources.
- Critical for compliance with regulations like GDPR (Europe) and various Asian data protection laws.
- Requires careful planning of data storage and processing locations.
Memory trick: Data sovereignty means data must 'live' where its passport says it can.