Your archive data. Your Azure controls.
Documents, metadata and search index stay in your own Azure subscription. You manage the environment. We operate the application.
Responsibilities at a glance
| Area | You | CumulusPro |
|---|---|---|
| Azure subscription and agreement with Microsoft | Own and manage | No ownership |
| Region, storage, redundancy, backup | Decide and manage | Advise; set up with you on request |
| Encryption keys (if customer-managed) | Hold in your Key Vault | No access to key material |
| Access for the application | Grant, review, revoke | Uses only what you grant |
| Archive application, updates, monitoring | Use it | Host, run, update, monitor |
| Users and permissions in the archive | Assign | Provide the controls |
Your archive, visible in your Azure portal
Open your Azure portal and you see every resource that holds your archive: the storage account with your documents, the metadata database, the search service, their region and their cost. You also see the access granted to the CumulusPro application, and you can change or revoke it. If you end your agreement with us, all of it stays where it is.
Security FAQ
Where is my archive data stored?
In your own Azure subscription, in the region you choose, for example West Europe or Switzerland North. Documents, metadata and the search index are all stored there. The application processes requests but keeps no copy of your archive.
Who owns and manages the Azure subscription?
You do. The subscription belongs to your organisation, under your own agreement with Microsoft. Your IT manages the resources with its usual Azure tools and sees every resource and every cost. Many customers ask us to set up the Azure side with them during rollout; you remain the owner.
How is data encrypted at rest?
With Azure Storage encryption (AES-256), applied to all data in your storage account. By default Microsoft manages the keys. You can choose customer-managed keys held in your own Azure Key Vault.
How is data encrypted in transit?
With TLS. TLS 1.3 is used by default. TLS 1.2 remains supported for older clients but is not recommended.
Who controls the encryption keys?
With customer-managed keys, you do. The keys stay in your Key Vault; you set the access policies and can rotate or revoke them. With Microsoft-managed keys, Microsoft manages them within your subscription.
What access does CumulusPro have?
The application uses a Microsoft Entra ID application identity with permissions you grant, limited to the archive resources. You can review and revoke this access in your Azure portal at any time. Revoking it stops the application; your data stays with you.
Can CumulusPro staff read our documents?
The application reads documents to show them to your users. CumulusPro staff do not access document content in normal operations. Support access to content needs your approval, is time-limited and is logged.
What about the US CLOUD Act?
The CLOUD Act allows US authorities to compel US-based providers to produce data in their possession, custody or control, wherever it is stored. Microsoft is a US company, so this applies in principle to any Azure deployment, including yours. We do not claim immunity. What CumulusPro Archive changes: your archive is in your own subscription under your own agreement with Microsoft, in the region you choose. CumulusPro, a Swiss company, does not hold a copy of it. Fewer parties hold your data, and the relationship that matters is your own one with Microsoft. Assess the legal position with your counsel.
Does storing data in Europe make us GDPR-compliant?
No. Data location is one factor. Compliance also depends on your processing activities, legal bases, retention rules, security measures and contracts. You are the controller of your archived data. Where CumulusPro processes personal data in operating the application, it acts as processor under a data processing agreement, available on request. CumulusPro is subject to the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection.
What is logged?
Sign-in, search, view, download, metadata changes, and retention and legal hold actions, each with user and time. Audit records can be exported as CSV.
How are backup and redundancy handled?
In your Azure subscription, with the Azure storage redundancy you choose. We recommend zone-redundant or geo-redundant storage and agree with you during rollout who configures and tests what.
How do retention, legal hold and immutability work?
Each document carries a retention class set at archiving. Legal hold prevents deletion until an authorised user releases it. Archived documents are not changed; metadata corrections are logged. You can additionally enable Azure immutable storage policies on your storage account.
In what format is the data stored?
Documents as their original files in Azure Blob Storage. Metadata in an Azure SQL database in your subscription. The search index in Azure AI Search in your subscription.
How do we get our data out?
It is already in your subscription. You can read and move documents with standard Azure tools, without the application and without CumulusPro. Metadata can also be exported from the application as CSV or JSON.
What we do not claim
We do not claim immunity from the US CLOUD Act or any other law. We do not claim certifications we do not hold. We do not claim that location alone makes you compliant. What we do claim, you can check in your own Azure portal: your subscription, your region, your resources, the access you granted us.
Ask the rest in person
Bring your security questionnaire. We will go through it with you.