Choosing a data location: why organisations ask

"Where is our data stored?" is now one of the first questions in any procurement. We explain what data location means on shared and dedicated infrastructure.

Dasmeet Mühendislik — Infrastructure and security 2 min read TürkçeDeutsch
A yellow dot shaped like a location pin on the ribbon

Until a few years ago, choosing a video conferencing service was a conversation about quality and price. Today most organisational conversations open with a different question: where does the data live? In this article we look at the reasons behind the question and the two different answers Dasmeet gives.

Why it matters

A meeting recording contains people's faces, voices, names and often the documents they shared. That places it squarely in the middle of personal data protection. Regulations such as KVKK in Türkiye and GDPR in Europe define in which country data is processed and under what conditions it may be transferred abroad. An organisation's legal team expects a clear answer from the provider.

Beyond regulation there is a practical side: a server close to the data means lower latency. A server near the participants' country directly affects audio and video quality.

What happens on shared infrastructure

In the shared model, several organisations use the same pool of servers. Each organisation's meetings, recordings and users are logically separated: an administrator from one organisation cannot reach any data of another. This separation is enforced at every layer of the software and tested separately for every new feature.

The country where the shared infrastructure is located is stated in the service description; the organisation decides with that information.

What changes with a dedicated server

For an organisation that wants a dedicated server, reserved capacity is set up and the data location is the organisation's choice. Data that must stay in Türkiye is processed on a server in Türkiye; when another country is required, that country is chosen. Recordings are stored in the same region.

This model makes sense for:

  • Public bodies and affiliated institutions with restrictions on transferring data abroad
  • Companies delivering training in regulated sectors such as healthcare and finance
  • Education providers whose own contracts commit to a data location

Questions to ask

Whichever provider you talk to, ask these four questions: In which country is data processed? Where are recordings stored? How is separation between organisations enforced and tested? How do I take my data when I leave? Our answer to the last one is simple: your recordings are already with you, as MP4 files.

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