The era of sovereign cloud is here

Recently, IT-media Version2 published an article describing how a Danish company left one of the significant hyperscalers after ten years of hosting data with the American provider and moved to a European cloud. The migration was completed seamlessly, and the outcome was substantial cost savings. In this scenario, there was a compelling case for a simple lift-and-shift migration. We experience a rapidly increasing interest in understanding the European-based solutions we offer, which clients use, typically in addition to and not necessarily instead of the non-European cloud providers.  

In parallel the EU has initiated new projects, like the 8ra initiative, to establish a resilient, open and future-proof digital infrastructure for Europe to counter the market domination by a few non-European providers and embrace the concerns about compliance, transparency, and data sovereignty. Hybrid cloud is becoming very real. 

However, when seeking sovereignty, it's important to distinguish between different types – each area delivering increasing levels of sovereignty but generally leading to decreasing functionality.

• Data sovereignty is about full ownership and regulatory compliance with data. For example, a healthcare provider managing patient records must adhere to GDPR, ensuring data is stored and processed only in authorized regions. Without data sovereignty, data loss, intellectual property theft, or fines for regulatory violations are risks. Ensuring this level of sovereignty safeguards data integrity and maintains legal compliance.
• Operational sovereignty focuses on maintaining control over the infrastructure and execution of operations. For example, a financial institution managing real-time transactions in the cloud. Without this level of sovereignty, external manipulations—like tampering with a network cable or losing control over admin permissions—could cause system downtime or breaches. By securing operational sovereignty, the institution ensures business continuity and protects its core processes.
• Technology sovereignty ensures organizations maintain control over their critical technologies, from design to deployment. For example, imagine a global pharmaceutical company that relies on cloud systems for research. Without technology sovereignty, they risk vendor lock-in, where a single provider controls pricing and innovation options. They maintain independence, avoid restrictions to a single ecosystem, and remain resilient to geopolitical shifts that could limit access to crucial technology.

When re-assessing your cloud strategy and seeking alternative cloud solutions, it is essential that the level of sovereignty matches the required business needs.

At T-Systems, we have for several years already offered Cloud solutions to match the above-mentioned levels of sovereignty.

Take, for example, Open Telekom Cloud - a European Sovereign Cloud solution - that offers flexibility and scalability equal to dominant hyperscalers. It is GDPR, GXP, BaFin, ECB, and EIOPA compliant and has several ISO and SOC certifications.

• The Open Telekom Cloud platform hosts more than 4,300 companies, including the European Space Agency Copernicus program, which provides access to recent satellite images and enables one of the world's largest ecosystems for space data. The satellites observe the Earth continuously and collect enormous amounts of data. Not only scientists but also industry and political decision-makers benefit from the images and measurements. Earth observation data also contribute to counteracting natural disasters and climate change. Data made available by the Open Telekom Cloud.
• The Future Cloud Infrastructure (FCI) platform is a strong and reliable private cloud that enables a multi-hybrid cloud strategy and ensures user data and operational sovereignty. We are trusted to host some of the largest SAP installations in the world, which are vital for the operations of large multinational companies that rely on T-System's stable and secure operations. FCI is also one of the certified SAP RISE platforms.

• The Open Sovereign Cloud (OSC) provides freedom and control of a trustworthy open-source platform developed and operated entirely within the EU. It ensures complete data, operational, and technology sovereignty, ensuring compliance with European regulations and reducing the risk of vendor lock-in. BARMER and AOK, two leading health insurance companies in Germany, host together more than 30 million policyholders’ digital identities on the OSC. That means more than 50% of healthcare insurance customers in Germany rely on OSC for their digital identity and secure hosting of their sensitive health data.

There are several proven and mature European Cloud alternatives in the market, which the above examples illustrate. Not only can they ensure complete sovereignty, but they can they can often also be a cost-effective alternative to the dominant hyperscalers. T-Systems is a proud European cloud provider. We can advise on your options, help with migrations, and provide managed services for all types of Sovereignty. The era of the sovereign cloud is here. It's time to re-evaluate your hybrid cloud strategy.