Setting Up Data Residency and Regional Compliance Controls in DigitalMeet
Data residency and regional compliance controls ensure your meeting data is stored and processed where you need it. This tutorial walks you through setting them up in DigitalMeet—step by step, with configuration details for every option.
Before You Begin
Data residency configuration affects where all meeting artifacts—recordings, transcripts, documents, AI outputs, and analytics data—are stored and processed. Changes apply to new data immediately but do not retroactively move existing data. Plan your configuration carefully, especially if your organization operates across multiple regulatory jurisdictions.
Before starting, ensure you have administrator access and have reviewed your organization's compliance requirements. For background on DigitalMeet's data residency architecture, see Data Residency and Compliance.
Step 1: Choose Allowed Regions
In the admin console, navigate to Compliance > Data Residency > Regions. Select the region(s) where storage and processing are allowed for your organization.
Available Region Configuration
| Region Code | Geography | Storage Available | Processing Available | Common Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu-west-1 | EU — Ireland | Yes | Yes | GDPR-primary for EU organizations |
| eu-central-1 | EU — Frankfurt | Yes | Yes | German data protection (BDSG) |
| us-east-1 | US — Virginia | Yes | Yes | Default region for US-based organizations |
| us-west-2 | US — Oregon | Yes | Yes | West coast latency optimization |
| ap-southeast-1 | Asia Pacific — Singapore | Yes | Yes | APAC data residency |
| il-central-1 | Israel — Tel Aviv | Yes | Yes | Israeli data protection requirements |
| Custom endpoint | Self-hosted | Yes | Yes | On-premise or private cloud deployments |
- Select one or more regions from the list.
- Designate a primary region where new data is stored by default.
- Optionally designate secondary regions for failover or multi-region teams.
- For single-region compliance (e.g., all EU data stays in the EU), select only EU region(s).
Tip: If your organization has teams in multiple regions, consider configuring per-group boundaries (Step 3) rather than restricting the entire organization to a single region. This provides compliance without forcing all traffic through one geography.
Step 2: Set Data Boundaries
Data boundaries control where specific categories of data can be stored and processed. DigitalMeet supports four boundary types, each independently configurable.
Boundary Types
| Boundary Type | What It Governs | Examples of Affected Data |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Where files are written to object storage | Recordings, documents, transcripts, AI artifacts |
| Processing | Where compute operations run | Transcription, AI summarization, emotion analysis |
| Analytics | Where usage and quality data is aggregated | Meeting metrics, call quality scores, feature adoption |
| Webhooks | Where outbound event payloads are delivered | Integration callbacks, CRM sync payloads, alerting |
Enforcement Mode Comparison
| Mode | Behavior on Boundary Violation | Logging | Recommended For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strict | Operation is blocked; error returned to caller | Violation logged with severity: critical | Production compliance, regulated industries |
| Warn | Operation proceeds; violation logged | Violation logged with severity: warning | Migration periods, configuration testing |
| Allow | No enforcement; boundary is informational | No violation logged | Development environments, non-regulated orgs |
- For each boundary type, select the allowed regions (from those enabled in Step 1).
- Choose the enforcement mode: Strict for production compliance, Warn for testing.
- Save each boundary configuration.
Important: Start with Warn mode and monitor the violation log for one to two weeks before switching to Strict. This catches misconfigurations—such as a third-party integration sending webhooks to an out-of-region endpoint—before they cause operational disruptions.
Step 3: Configure Per-Group Boundaries
For organizations with teams in different jurisdictions, configure boundaries at the group level rather than (or in addition to) the organization level.
- Navigate to Compliance > Data Residency > Group Overrides.
- Select the group (e.g., "EU Sales Team").
- Set the allowed regions and enforcement mode for that group's data.
- Group boundaries override organization defaults for users in that group.
- Users in multiple groups inherit the most restrictive boundary.
Document which teams are assigned to which regions for audit purposes. This mapping is visible in the admin console's compliance report.
Step 4: Configure Custom Storage Routing
If your organization uses custom S3-compatible storage (on-premise MinIO, private cloud, or a dedicated AWS account), configure storage routing so DigitalMeet writes data to your infrastructure.
- Navigate to Compliance > Data Residency > Storage Routing.
- Click Add Custom Endpoint.
- Enter the S3-compatible endpoint URL, access key, secret key, and bucket name.
- Specify the region label for this endpoint (used in boundary matching).
- Test the connection to verify credentials and permissions.
- Assign the endpoint to the organization or to specific groups.
The region routing service applies these rules consistently across all storage operations—recordings, documents, transcripts, and AI artifacts all route through the same configuration.
Step 5: Verify Data Location
After configuration, verify that data is landing in the expected regions.
- Run a test meeting with recording and transcription enabled.
- After the meeting ends, navigate to Compliance > Data Residency > Data Location Report.
- Confirm that the recording, transcript, and metadata appear in the configured region.
- Check the boundary violation log for any warnings or errors.
- If using custom storage, verify the file appears in your S3 bucket directly.
Step 6: Set Retention Policies
Retention policies control how long data is kept before automatic deletion. Configure them per meeting type to match different compliance requirements.
- Navigate to Compliance > Retention Policies.
- For each meeting type, set the retention duration (30, 60, 90, 180, 365 days, or custom).
- Enable Export before delete if your compliance framework requires archival.
- Set the notification period so admins are alerted before deletion occurs.
- Choose the deletion type: soft delete (recoverable), hard delete (permanent), or compliance delete (GDPR right-to-be-forgotten).
For detailed retention and deletion options, see Data Residency and Compliance.
Step 7: Ongoing Monitoring
Data residency is not a set-and-forget configuration. Monitor boundary compliance continuously:
- Review the Boundary Violation Log weekly during the first month, then monthly.
- Run the Data Location Report after configuration changes or new team onboarding.
- Export compliance reports for auditors on demand.
- Update boundaries when regulations change or your organization expands to new regions.
For exporting compliance data to external monitoring tools, see Enterprise Observability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we keep all EU data in the EU?
Yes. Select only EU region(s) in Step 1 and enforce Strict boundaries for all boundary types. All new data will be stored and processed exclusively in the EU.
What happens if a boundary is violated in Strict mode?
The operation is blocked entirely. An error is returned to the calling service, and a critical-severity violation is logged. The affected data is not written to the out-of-boundary location.
How do we change regions later?
Update the data residency settings in the admin console. New data follows the new rules immediately. Existing data remains in its current location unless you use the data migration tool to relocate it.
Can different teams have different regions?
Yes. Use per-group boundary overrides (Step 3) to assign different regions to different teams. This is common for multinational organizations with EU and US teams.
Does boundary enforcement affect performance?
Boundary checks add negligible latency (typically under 5 ms). However, routing data to a geographically distant region can affect upload and download speeds. Choose regions close to your users for the best experience.
How do we handle data migration?
The admin console includes a data migration tool that relocates existing recordings, documents, and transcripts to a new region. The tool validates boundary compliance during migration and provides a detailed progress report.
Is self-hosted storage supported?
Yes. Configure custom S3-compatible endpoints (Step 4) for on-premise MinIO, private cloud, or dedicated AWS accounts. All boundary and routing rules apply identically to custom endpoints.
How do we prove compliance to auditors?
Export the Data Location Report, Boundary Violation Log, and Retention Policy Report from the admin console. These documents provide auditable evidence of where data is stored, how boundaries are enforced, and when data is deleted. See also GDPR Compliance for Video Conferencing.
For background on the architecture behind these controls, see Data Residency and Compliance. For general platform setup, see Getting Started with DigitalMeet.