Cloud content management firm Box Inc. early today debuted the ability for its customers to store the same data in multiple “zones” around the world while users can collaborate on the files across those zones.

The capability builds on Box’s 2016 introduction of Zones, which enabled customers to store their data in one of now seven zones around the world, such as the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. The idea was to help companies comply with rules for various kinds of data in highly regulated industries such as healthcare or in countries with specific data privacy requirements, so the data needs to be stored in a particular region.

But many of Box’s large customers wanted the ability to store data in multiple zones at the same time along with controls over who can access the data and how it can be used, Jeetu Patel, Box’s chief product officer, said in an interview. Now, with the multiregion capability, data can be assigned to more than one zone.

So, for example, if a company has a legal team in Europe, the folder for recruiting lawyers needs to resides in the U.K., but if the firm is hiring lawyers in New York, they want to keep that data in the U.S. Now, the U.K. team could share data on prospects that might work in either country with a recruiter in the U.S. while keeping the data itself in the U.K.

“It’ll dramatically reduce risk and address data protection requirements,” Patel said. “The user does not have to worry about where the content is. It all happens behind the scenes with the admin console.”

Not coincidentally, the announcement comes just a day ahead of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation going into effect. “We wanted to make sure we got out ahead of that,” Patel said.

More than that, this kind of capability as well as other Box services related to data governance and sovereignty are potentially a way to help companies be prepared for GDPR simply in the process of using Box. Those services include GDPR readiness, Box KeySafe to give administrators visibility of control over data and Box Governance, which helps in complying with data retention policies and other issues.

“Not all companies have very clear plans yet for GDPR,” despite the fact that it’s coming literally within hours. “We want to make sure we can help catalyze them.”

The capability may sound rather mundane, and in a sense it is, for the ultimate user of the data. But it’s not easy to manage on the backend, and the consequences for not managing it well range from annoying to dire.

If data stored is stored in one zone, it can be cumbersome for users in another zone to get access to it. Now, companies will be able to change a user’s assigned Zone as needed and content the user has access to will automatically move to the new Zone. Moreover, by making sure the data movement complies with GDPR, companies can avoid big potential penalties for violations.

The multizone support is available for all Box customers now, including those in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. There’s information on pricing here, but Patel said there’s no additional cost for multiple Zones.

Image: Box