Why it matters where your data is

Article published by Digitalisation World on October 27

In his latest article, Anders Fryxell, Chief Sales Officer at atNorth, highlights the critical importance of strategically locating data to maximize efficiency, sustainability, and regulatory compliance. With AI adoption accelerating rapidly – 83% of companies now prioritizing AI – businesses are scaling data center capacity quickly, often without considering the specific demands of different workloads. Fryxell emphasizes that not all data should be treated the same: “By segmenting business data by use case, processing speed, sensitivity and regulatory requirements, it’s possible to host each workload in the most suitable location.”

Latency-sensitive tasks like financial trading or AI inference benefit from metro or edge data centers close to fiber routes and end users, whereas latency-agnostic workloads, such as AI training, can be hosted in rural campuses where costs are lower. Beyond cost and performance, sustainability is a key factor. Nordic data centers, for example, leverage cooler climates and renewable energy to reduce operational costs and carbon footprints, while initiatives like heat reuse partnerships enable clients to decarbonize their IT workloads further.

Data sovereignty and compliance are also driving workload segmentation. With growing geopolitical uncertainty and complex legislation like GDPR and the US CLOUD Act, companies must carefully consider where their sensitive workloads are hosted to mitigate risk. Fryxell notes that a “one-size-fits-all” approach is no longer viable, and a robust segmentation strategy ensures efficiency, security, and sustainable growth over the long term.

Read the full article to learn more about why where your data lives matters and how workload segmentation can transform efficiency, sustainability, and compliance here.