Chrome River plans to open a data center in Europe, chief
marketing officer Julie Roy told BTN.
The expense management company declined to discuss timing, location and drivers
behind the decision.
The company is angling for more business both in Europe from
its U.K. base and in Asia/Pacific just as the means by which crossborder
companies should secure data becomes unclear. Previously, U.S. companies self-audited
their adherence to Safe Harbor, a set of guidelines by which U.S. companies
vowed to protect data to European standards. In October, however, the European
Court of Justice declared Safe Harbor no longer valid, and U.S. and European
Union authorities announced that a draft of a new agreement, Privacy Shield, should
be ready by late February.
Some industry players, though, doubt whether
true protection is possible via an agreement between the two governing bodies.
U.S. companies can skirt the issue entirely, however, by establishing data
centers in Europe to host data related to their European clients.