Do you know where your data and applications are?

Location, location, location. The familiar real estate mantra—location, location, location—has become an increasingly relevant theme in the world of applications and data.

The GDPR-related adventures of the late 2010s marked the beginning of a long journey regarding the location of applications and, especially, data. Back then, we learned that many problems could be avoided if data was stored in Finland or Europe.

The rise of cloud services and integrations introduced new complexities. Warnings from data protection officers and IT management demands were navigated using traditional methods. Cloud services, when set up, don’t ask inconvenient questions—they warmly welcome you as soon as the magic of your credit card is activated. By the time IT realized what was happening, it was often too late. And in many organizations, asking for forgiveness was easier than asking for permission.

A few years ago, we woke up to warnings about storing data in Chinese services. After that, anything linked to Russia became tainted. A data center accessible only via undersea cables turned into a problem after a few anchoring exercises.

Over the past year, services and data controlled by American companies have, due to the government’s peculiar adventures, become at least questionable targets to avoid. In many areas, risk scenarios now weigh a hacker’s malicious payload traveling via fiber optic cable as less concerning than a physical payload arriving by rocket motor. Environmental and ESG themes remain important, though other issues have taken precedence amid crises.

We’ve been told for a long time that the world is changing faster now than ever before in history. If the pace seemed breakneck in the early 2000s, we now know that was just the warm-up lap.

Amid all this change and uncertainty, stability can still be created. You may not know what will happen next in the world or where trends will lead, but in many things, it helps to know where you stand. In the world of application and data management, you can’t be perfect, but awareness and the ability to manage risks effectively are crucial.

In the current landscape of data and technology, there is an emphasized need to know where solutions and data are physically located. The easiest way to approach this is through applications, starting with the most critical ones. Typically, the most important applications also contain the most important data. The more critical the solution, the more important it is to know the details of its location.

Geographical location, which discussions often focus on, is important but overemphasized. The fact that something is "in the cloud" means it’s not in your possession. That cloud could be in your neighbor’s garage. Even if the data is in Finland, physical security solutions may not be sufficient.

Integrations often complicate the physical location of services. You might have placed your CRM in an EU data center, assuming customer data complies with regulations—only for new tools to shatter that assumption. Newly adopted AI agents, which process daily customer interactions through integrations, can turn customer data location discussions problematic again. And that’s not even considering the requirements of the AI Act.

When it comes to location in application and data management, success depends on six key points:

1. Ensure that basic application inventory details and criticality are clear.

2. List your organization’s most important data and identify which applications hold it.

3. Understand the integrations stemming from your key applications—what data is transferred and where.

4. Determine what kinds of locations are in use and where your critical applications reside.

5. Document location-based risks—accept those you can manage and start corrective actions for those you can’t live with.

6. Repeat steps 1–5 regularly.

Your task is to manage the whole, and we can help you succeed. The Twin EA tool provides capabilities for all the above, helping you achieve strong application, data, and integration management.

Send a message if you want to talk more about location, location, and location.