Not true, I live in Sydney, my clients are in Australia and I host in both the US and in Australia.
Sure, I get <3ms latency from local servers and ~200ms latency from Freemont CA, but it's not a big deal to anyone (except maybe gamers).
I have consulted to government and banks in Australia, and they all do care (to varying degrees ) about the legal jurisdiction in which their data is held.
The main issues I have heard (from memory) are:
1. Subpoena risk - can a third party access my information without my consent (or even knowledge) using a subpoena?
2. Legal jurisdictional complication - As a business I must comply with the laws of Australia and NSW, but if a software supplier keeps their data outside of Australia, how can I prove that the supply chain complies with Australia / NSW law?
3. Lack of recourse if there is a breach / loss of data because a supplier is out of jurisdictional reach.
4. Sovereign risk - How can I be expected to track pertinent changes to law in foreign jurisdictions?
My experience is that in most cases clients don't perceive these risks as insurmountable; they do understand that they are industry wide problems that need to be addressed out, and they do in some cases lead to a preference for local suppliers of hosted software.
Sure, I get <3ms latency from local servers and ~200ms latency from Freemont CA, but it's not a big deal to anyone (except maybe gamers).
I have consulted to government and banks in Australia, and they all do care (to varying degrees ) about the legal jurisdiction in which their data is held.
The main issues I have heard (from memory) are:
1. Subpoena risk - can a third party access my information without my consent (or even knowledge) using a subpoena?
2. Legal jurisdictional complication - As a business I must comply with the laws of Australia and NSW, but if a software supplier keeps their data outside of Australia, how can I prove that the supply chain complies with Australia / NSW law?
3. Lack of recourse if there is a breach / loss of data because a supplier is out of jurisdictional reach.
4. Sovereign risk - How can I be expected to track pertinent changes to law in foreign jurisdictions?
My experience is that in most cases clients don't perceive these risks as insurmountable; they do understand that they are industry wide problems that need to be addressed out, and they do in some cases lead to a preference for local suppliers of hosted software.