For many organizations the matter of where there cloud-based data resides is of extreme importance. Organizations have performance, privacy and governance concerns to contend with, and data sovereignty is a big part of this. With that in mind, Box Inc. is expanding its partnership with IBM to introduce Box Zones, giving corporate customers the option of storing data locally or in the U.S.

With the introduction of Box Zones, the two companies are giving customers in Asia and Europe the chance to store their data within the country of their choice, with the initial options being IBM’s data centers in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Italy. Not only that, but Box Zones have also been designed to support hybrid cloud environments, which means businesses can choose which data to store in the cloud and which should reside on-premises.

John Morris, general manager at IBM Cloud Object Storage, explained that while organizations want to tap into the benefits of the cloud, many are unwilling to do so for fear of losing control of security and performance.

“With Box Zones and the IBM Cloud, enterprise customers across Europe and Asia will soon have the choice to leverage the IBM Cloud global footprint locally, and uniquely support hybrid cloud and on-premises deployments, integrating data between Box Zones and on-premises content repositories,” Morris said.

As part of the deal, IBM is also helping customers migrate their data to Box Zones by leverage its Cloud Object Storage services, enabling enterprises to manage their data locally via the cloud in as many regions as they have data. Cloud Object Storage is built upon technology IBM obtained through its acquisition of Cleversafe, and delivers a consistent architecture and interface for all on-premises, cloud and hybrid setups.

“Box and IBM are focused on bringing world-class technology to enterprises across the globe, and on building dynamic content and collaboration solutions that transform the way our customers do business,” said Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO, Box. “Box Zones enables us to combine Box’s rich, intuitive content management experience and collaboration tools with IBM Cloud’s powerful global infrastructure to overcome many of the data storage concerns faced by businesses in Europe and Asia.”

Box and IBM’s partnership dates back to summer 2015, and the two firms have tightened their embrace with dozens of new product integrations since then. One recent example saw the launch of a new IBM MobileFirst for iOS Expert Seller app that incorporates Box’s file management capabilities.

The partnership is proving to be extremely beneficial for both firms. Box continues to diversify beyond just providing cloud storage, while today’s new offering should ensure IBM gains even greater access to the latter’s enormous customer base.

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