With Leaseweb Canada, its Montreal-based subsidiary, the Dutch company hopes to use Canada’s data sovereignty laws to its advantage.
On Thursday, the Netherlands-based infrastructure as a service company Leaseweb announced that it is making its Leaseweb Object Storage platform available in Canada through Leaseweb Canada. This makes it possible for regulated Canadian companies with data covered by Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and other provincial laws to use the platform without running afoul of data sovereignty or other privacy regulations.
Leaseweb has had a presence in Canada since it acquired the Montreal-based hosting and IaaS company iWeb Technologies in August 2021, evidently in a move to legally establish itself as a Canadian company to meet potential jurisdictional requirements. In February 2023, iWeb “transitioned” to become Leaseweb Canada.
“With a heightened emphasis on Canadian privacy laws, it’s more important than ever for companies to be able to trust that their data is staying in Canada,” Leaseweb Canada’s CEO, Roger Brulotte, said in a statement. “With Leaseweb Object Storage, we can offer Canadian businesses an accessible, secure environment with the flexibility to integrate into their existing infrastructures.”
The company says its IaaS platform is designed to meet a wide range of storage needs, particularly in the cloud. It supports application and data archive requirements, provides an environment for backup and disaster recovery data, and serves as a persistent storage solution for containers. Additionally, it can store and utilize AI and machine learning data effectively.
Because Leaseweb Object Storage uses widely available APIs such as S3 Compatibility over standard Internet protocols, the company says it offers increased security when compared to other forms of storage. The company also claims 99.99% uptime, in part by redundantly spanning data across three or more systems in the same or different availability zones.
“Leaseweb Canada is proud to offer an object storage solution that puts the needs of Canadian companies first,” Brulotte said. “Canada is at the forefront of technological innovation, especially in AI, which is transforming industries such as media, healthcare, finance, education, and more. As these industries continue growing, Canadian companies need a flexible alternative to hyperscaler object storage solutions.”
Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux
