Only OneDrive has to be replaced by a German cloud service such as TeamDrive.
Hamburg, September 29, 2020 – Data security expert Detlef Schmuck, Managing Director of Hamburg-based TeamDrive GmbH, contradicts the view expressed by data protection experts that Microsoft 365 cannot be used in Germany in a legally compliant manner. Numerous lawyers in Germany use Microsoft software in a legally compliant manner, but in combination with the TeamDrive cloud service, which ensures that all personal data is stored in a German cloud in a highly encrypted form and not in Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud.
The TeamDrive managing director points out that the German Lawyers’ Association DAV offers a “GDPR-compatible cloud solution for members of local lawyers’ associations” under the name “TeamDrive DAV”, with guaranteed storage on servers in Germany that are not under American control. “This cloud solution naturally also works together with the Microsoft Office products, even from Microsoft 365 subscriptions,” says Detlef Schmuck, and admits: “During configuration, however, you must ensure that all data worthy of protection is either stored locally or in the TeamDrive cloud. However, this should not be an insoluble problem for German authorities”. He thus contradicts the working group of the Data Protection Conference of the Federal and State Governments (DSK), which had classified the legally compliant use of Microsoft 365 in public institutions as impossible. According to the DSK, the program suite, which includes products such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, cannot be used in accordance with the data protection laws applicable in Germany. “This does not apply if the OneCloud storage service belonging to the suite is replaced by TeamDrive,” Detlef Schmuck clarifies. According to the provider, the cloud service operated by the Hamburg-based company is expressly designed for smooth and legally compliant interaction with Microsoft Office, even in different variants such as Microsoft 365.
