Overview
Sounding Board’s data region support allows customers with European data residency requirements to run Sounding Board coaching programs with all coaching data stored and processed in the EU.
All data within a single Sounding Board company (also referred to as a sub-tenant) is stored in one and only one data region. The supported data regions are EU and US.
- Expand customers use a single company and therefore a single data region.
- Guide customers may be able to run programs in more than one data region. In these cases, programs are organized into separate companies (sub-tenants), with each company’s data stored entirely in a single region.
EU Data Support helps customers align with GDPR and common data residency expectations, without changing the coaching experience for participants, sponsors, or administrators. Multi-region setups for Guide customers are planned in partnership with Sounding Board Customer Experience and may involve trade-offs, such as impacts to cross-program insights.
Administrators can learn more about setting data region in this admin guide article.
What EU Data Support Makes Possible
EU Data Support enables customers to:
- Participate in coaching programs where all end-user data is stored and processed in the EU, supporting EU-based participants who require EU data residency
- Helps you meet common GDPR and works council expectations without changing the coaching experience for users
The Sounding Board product experience remains the same for all users. The difference is where the data lives and is processed behind the scenes.
What EU Data Support Does Not Change
To set expectations clearly:
- This is not a separate product or reduced-feature version of Sounding Board
- There is no visible platform difference for end users
- It does not replace the need for standard GDPR agreements (such as a Data Processing Addendum). EU Data Support focuses on data residency, while GDPR agreements cover the legal and contractual requirements for processing personal data.
When Should I Care About Data Region Planning?
You should pay particular attention to data region planning if your organization operates across regions or has different requirements for different employee populations.
This is most relevant if:
- You plan to include EU-based employees in coaching programs and have requirements that their data be stored in the EU
- Your organization has data residency, legal, or works council requirements that apply to some regions or employee groups but not others
- You are running or planning to run global coaching programs that span EU and non-EU populations
During planning, Sounding Board may ask questions such as:
- Do any of the employees you plan to include in coaching have requirements that their data be stored in the EU?
- Do you have internal policies, legal requirements, or works council considerations that apply differently across regions or populations?
- Are you planning to run coaching programs for both EU-based and non-EU employee groups?
Your answers help determine whether all programs can be supported in a single data region or whether a multi-region setup (for Guide customers) should be considered.
Program Setup (Guide Customers)
How EU Data Support is applied depends on whether you are a Guide or Expand customer. In both cases, Sounding Board sets the data region for your tenant during setup.
Guide Customers
For Guide customers, Sounding Board administers and configures coaching programs on your behalf.
Guide customers may be able to run programs in more than one data region (EU and US). If this is needed, it must be planned in advance with Sounding Board Customer Experience.
To support programs in multiple regions, programs will be organized into separate Sounding Board companies (sub-tenants). This is required because all data within a single company is stored in one and only one data region.
Key considerations:
- Programs in different regions will live in different companies (sub-tenants)
- Running programs across multiple companies can have impacts on cross-program insights and reporting
- These trade-offs will be reviewed with you during planning to ensure the setup aligns with your goals
Sounding Board will guide you through these decisions and handle the configuration.
Expand Customers
For Expand customers, your administrators manage and configure your own coaching programs within Sounding Board.
Sounding Board will still set the data region for your tenant during initial setup, based on your requirements.
- If any of your coachees or programs require EU data storage, your entire tenant will be set up in the EU.
- If not, your tenant will be set up in the US.
Once the data region is set, all data in the platform for that tenant will be stored and processed in that region.
What We’ll Confirm During Planning
To ensure your programs are set up correctly, Sounding Board will confirm the following during onboarding or implementation:
- Whether any of your programs or coachees require EU data storage
- Whether you are a Guide customer planning to run programs in more than one data region
- Your expectations for insights and reporting across programs
These conversations help us design the right setup and clearly communicate any trade-offs before launch.
Need Help?
If you have questions about EU Data Support during planning or implementation, please reach out to your Sounding Board contact. We’re happy to help you confirm the right setup based on your data residency requirements and program plans.