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GitHub has announced that it will introduce data residency capabilities, beginning with EU developers on 29 October 2024. The new data residency feature for Enterprise Cloud will allow organisations to store their GitHub code and repository data in their preferred geographical region.

“We’ve heard for years from enterprises that being able to control where their data resides is critical for them,” explained Jim Wang, VP of Engineering at GitHub. “With data residency, organisations can now store their GitHub code and repository data in their preferred geographical region.”

This development is expected to enable more developers globally to build on what GitHub calls “the world’s AI-powered developer platform.”

Mark Weir, Director for UK & Ireland at Check Point Software, commented: “Data residency has been a key topic of discussion ever since cloud computing became an option. It is especially critical for regulated industries, where regulations can vary depending on the country of operation.

“Beyond the day-to-day management, it’s also important to consider where data might be relocated in the event of a provider issue. This concern is even more pronounced when handling Crown data, which is subject to strict residency requirements.”

Enterprise Cloud with data residency offers enhanced user control and unique namespaces on GHE.com, isolated from the open-source cloud on GitHub.com. The solution is built on Microsoft Azure’s security, business continuity, and disaster recovery capabilities.

Tim Mackey, Head of Software Supply Chain Risk at the Synopsys Software Integrity Group, said: “As usage of cloud services increase, businesses are rightly concerned about where their data is located and how regulations might impact access to their data.

“Looking specifically at source code, the value of many businesses is held in their ability to innovate and bring products and services to market. Data residency aids in reducing potential regulatory risk by providing businesses with explicit controls to limit where their code is stored and how it’s accessed.”

The project, which began in summer 2022, involved extensive collaboration across GitHub teams. The company opted to build the new offering as a feature set extending Enterprise Cloud, ensuring synchronization with GitHub.com features and maintaining expected performance, reliability, and security standards.

GitHub leveraged its own tools throughout the development process. The team used GitHub Issues and Projects to organize work across more than 100 teams and over 2,000 issues. They also utilized upcoming features like issues hierarchy and issue types, which are soon to be announced.

For development, GitHub continued its practice of using its own products. Developers used GitHub Codespaces for development and GitHub Actions for continuous integration. The deployment process was integrated into the existing workflow, with new regions added as deployment targets.

GitHub has enhanced its deployment strategy by integrating a “deploy then merge” system that incorporates successful deployments to Enterprise Cloud data residency destinations before permitting merges. This new practice ensures that all Enterprise Cloud environments receive updates simultaneously and are effectively supervised.

For evaluating this enhancement, GitHub established a separate environment specifically for the GitHub Enterprise Importer team, who shifted their everyday development activities to this setup. This maneuver enabled real-life application and feedback, which was integral for early problem detection and resolution during development stages.

This development in providing data residency options for GitHub Enterprise Cloud marks significant progress in catering to the stringent requirements of data management and regulatory compliance observed by enterprises.

“GitHub is making commendable progress in this field, positioning itself well amongst other service providers,” commented Weir. “There’s a strong, widespread demand for data residency solutions, especially in highly regulated industries within both public and private sectors,” he added.

As more regions are added in the future, this feature is set to unlock GitHub’s potential for an even broader developer base worldwide—particularly for those in heavily regulated industries or dealing with sensitive data.

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