Key facts
| Data planes | EU (Frankfurt), GCC (UAE), APAC (Singapore) and US (Virginia) region-locked planes |
| Processing boundary | Requests, logs, embeddings and stored artefacts stay in the selected plane |
| Deployment tiers | In-region cloud, private endpoint in your VPC, on-prem and air-gapped |
| Failover | Multi-region failover designed to respect the jurisdiction you select |
| Contracts | DPA with GDPR Article 28 terms, SCCs and PDPL alignment; subprocessor list published |
| Latency note | A strict boundary can add round-trip time — measure p50 and p95 before cut-over |
| Per-tenant planes | Pin workloads per tenant to meet contractual residency |
| Trust pack | DPA, subprocessor list and region-scoped logs for security reviews |
TL;DR
- Region-locked planes keep requests, logs and artefacts in the jurisdiction you select.
- VPC, on-prem and air-gapped tiers cover in-country processing requirements.
- Prove one non-default region operationally, then template it per tenant.
- Include observability and billing in the data-path audit, not just the AI endpoint.
- Start free with plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite; a 14-day full-access trial covers larger models.
How it works, step by step
- Classify the workload's data and pick the plane or deployment tier it requires.
- Pin the workspace to that boundary and confirm prompts, embeddings, logs and backups follow it.
- Collect the DPA, subprocessor list and region-scoped audit exports for review.
- Choose one region a design partner needs and run the full operational path there.
- Template tenant provisioning so plane selection is configuration.
- Publish DPA, subprocessors and a data-flow map before the first contract review.
Try it yourself
Open the AI data residency checklist →
Data residency for SaaS teams: what changes
SaaS teams meet residency through their customers: an EU buyer asks for EU processing, a Gulf enterprise asks for in-region data, and each request arrives inside a security review. The answer must be architectural, evidenced, and cheap enough to serve repeatedly.
Data residency on Plugsky is delivered by region-locked planes rather than by offices: choose EU (Frankfurt), GCC (UAE), APAC (Singapore) or US (Virginia), and prompts, logs, embeddings and artefacts remain in that jurisdiction by default. For stricter requirements the identical API runs in your VPC, on-prem or air-gapped, so the processing boundary matches your own network boundary.
Architecture and controls
Pin workloads per tenant to region-locked planes, keep logs and embeddings in the same jurisdiction as the tenant's data, and publish the DPA and subprocessor list buyers need. Federate identity so tenant administrators manage access inside their boundary.
Integration pattern and rollout
Start with one non-default region for design partners, prove the operational path — provisioning, monitoring, failover — then template it. Because the API is OpenAI-compatible, tenant pinning is configuration and product code stays the same.
Treat region selection as configuration rather than code: the workload is pinned to a plane, the OpenAI-compatible call path stays the same, and your tests verify that every data store follows the boundary. Measure p50 and p95 from your own network against candidate regions before committing, and collect evidence — DPA, subprocessor list, region-scoped logs — as you go.
Limits, evidence and cost
Residency adds routing, monitoring and support complexity across regions, and some tenants will ask for guarantees your dependencies cannot meet. Audit the full data path, including observability and billing systems, before committing contractually.
Region selection is configuration, not a premium add-on on self-serve plans; check the live pricing page for current tiers. The free plan covers plugsky-micro and plugsky-lite with no card, and the 14-day full-access trial lets you test the architecture before you sign anything.
Honest comparison
| Concern | Plugsky residency | Typical global API | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plane choice | EU, GCC, APAC and US region-locked planes | Few regions, global default routing | Wherever you install it |
| Store coverage | Prompts, embeddings, logs and artefacts follow the plane | Varies by service | You own every store |
| Failover | Designed to respect the selected jurisdiction | Often global | Your DR design |
| Evidence | Region-scoped logs, DPA and subprocessor list | Contract-level commitments | You produce all evidence |
| Operational load | Managed planes with configurable residency | Managed, limited control | Hardware, patching and capacity |
| Contractual residency | Per-tenant plane pinning with DPA flow-down | Region add-ons vary | You build multi-region operations |
Frequently asked questions
How do we verify data residency?
Check the plane configuration, confirm that prompts, embeddings, logs and backups follow the boundary, review the DPA and subprocessor list, and test failover behaviour.
Which regions are available?
Plugsky exposes EU (Frankfurt), GCC (UAE), APAC (Singapore) and US (Virginia) region-locked planes, plus VPC, on-prem and air-gapped deployment options. See the docs for current detail.
Does residency add latency?
It can. A strict boundary may mean longer round trips than a globally distributed endpoint, so measure p50 and p95 from your own production network before committing.
How do we serve customers in several regions?
Pin each tenant to a region-locked plane and keep logs, embeddings and backups with it. Template provisioning so onboarding stays configuration-driven.
What do buyers expect to see?
A DPA with transfer terms, a current subprocessor list, region-scoped audit logs and a clear statement of failover behaviour.
Does residency affect feature parity?
It can, if a dependency is not available in a region. Audit the full stack per region and document any difference before signing.