According to an aspect, a method for data placement in a distributed database includes obtaining access pattern information relating to end clients that requested access to data stored in a first regional quorum of replicas located within a first region, where the first regional quorum includes a first lead replica. The method includes identifying a placement algorithm from a configuration file associated with the distributed database, and executing the placement algorithm to generate a suggested placement for the data based on the obtained access pattern information, where the suggested placement includes a second regional quorum of replicas located in a second region different than the first region, and the second regional quorum includes a second lead replica. The method includes transmitting a migration request to the distributed database to transfer the data from the first regional quorum to the second regional quorum.