Brexit & GDPR impact on cloud and DC strategy

From Safe Harbour to Brexit and the upcoming GDRP, Europe is heading into turbulent times, risking disrupting digital businesses significantly. DCD Europe is set to gather leading industry experts to help delegates who operate or outsource their IT operations make the necessary technology and legal considerations, helping the industry navigate in the current grey zone and prepare for the next few years ahead.

How IT infrastructure is designed and delivered around these European curve-balls is crucial to avoid minimal disruption for businesses who increasingly or entirely rely on digital platforms, allowing them to make seamless data transfer in EU within legal frameworks. 

“With the imminent introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), we anticipate the demand for localised data centers to rise. Placing content at the edge and closer to the end user will help provide a more personalised service through more resilient networks and less stress on latency and secured communication”, says Tanuja Randery, President for UK & Ireland at Schneider Electric, who will be speaking at the event.

Brexit paving the way for edge data centers?

Leaving the EU could lead to hampering the free movement of data within the continent which could have adverse impacts on businesses. A key element accompanying the Brexit negotiations is the pending EU GDPR which is set to be implemented in May 2018.

“Data privacy and data residency will be affected significantly, and the UK would need to either implement GDPR or model a similar approach that meets the requirements. Even with that approach, post Brexit, the UK needs to be approved by the EU privacy regulators as offering adequate protection and the uncertainty of whether and when the UK will be awarded such status could lead to an exodus to EU sites”, says Carolyn Bertin lawyer at Keystone LLP, who will be also joining the Brexit panel.

Aside from working out legal frameworks, it is also worth considering the notion of edge computing, which is a fast rising technology that allows localised processing and storage of data via decentralised micro data centers. This tech promises to improve security and privacy of data and could have a significant role to play for CSP and data center operators in the wake of Brexit.

Companies present at the event include EdgeConnex, Facebook, Google, Schneider Electric, Rittal, Open Compute, Microsoft, Huawei and many more who are preparing to showcase their latest tech and innovations at the event this November.

“Many are questioning what the effects of Brexit would mean to data center operators and Cloud Service Providers, DCD Europe will gather the industry at the Old Billingsgate Market to collectively tackle the current challenges heads-on and evaluate the legal and technology advances that can help solve this puzzle in a way that avoids hampering digital growth for the UK and EU”, says George Rockett, CEO & Co-Founder of DatacenterDynamics.

If you are interested in attending DCD Europe?s ZettaStructure on 1-2 November in London, we encourage you to get your tickets today! Limited ticket allocation left – see details.