Partners react to AWS' €7.8bn investment into European sovereign cloud
The hyperscaler’s pledge reflects its commitment to meeting Europe’s digital sovereignty needs
AWS recently announced plans to invest €7.8bn in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Germany through 2040, reflecting its long-term commitment to meeting Europe's digital sovereignty needs.
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is planning to launch its first AWS Region in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, by the end of 2025, available to all customers.
The hyperscaler said its long-term investment is expected to lead to a ripple effect in the local cloud community, through accelerating productivity gains, empowering the digital transformation of businesses, empowering the AWS Partner Network, upskilling the cloud and digital workforce, developing renewable energy projects, and creating a positive impact in the communities where AWS operates.
To find out how the extra capital will affect AWS' European channel, CRN spoke with three partners.
Sat Gainda, head of AWS digital, data and cloud at Version 1
"Version 1 embraces the announcement of a €7.8bn investment in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. It represents an independent infrastructure designed to empower organisations with control without compromising performance or security.
"As regulatory requirements evolve, we recognise the critical importance of data sovereignty and operational autonomy for customers.
"By collaborating with our customers, we will facilitate seamless migration of workloads and data to the European Sovereign Cloud as soon as operationally feasible.
"Customers are encouraged to explore the services offered by the AWS European Sovereign Cloud and we hope to see a future where organisations can thrive in a secure, resilient, and compliant cloud environment."
Partners react to AWS' €7.8bn investment into European sovereign cloud
The hyperscaler’s pledge reflects its commitment to meeting Europe’s digital sovereignty needs
James Moore, VP of EMEA sales at DoiT
What does this mean for your business as an AWS partner?
"We are thrilled that AWS plans to invest €7.8bn in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud by 2040. We support thousands of European businesses across an array of highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, financial services and the public sector, so the new Sovereign Cloud will allow us to provide additional support to our customers in these demanding industries."
Are you prepared for the extra investment in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud?
"Following the strategic collaboration agreement that we signed with AWS in November last year, DoiT is committed to additional investments in Europe, especially countries where new AWS European Sovereign Cloud regions are planned.
"We will also be continuing to invest in local programmes and staff alongside the launch of these new regions."
Have you been receiving more questions around European data sovereignty from customers?
"Security, compliance and data residency are common topics amongst our existing and future customers, which we address jointly with AWS via our 200 engineers, legal and compliance teams.
"The uncertainty around data transfer outside the European Union in the last few years has resulted in increased questions about this topic. At DoiT, we're pleased to see the additional investment from AWS give customers more choice of their data residency."
Partners react to AWS' €7.8bn investment into European sovereign cloud
The hyperscaler’s pledge reflects its commitment to meeting Europe’s digital sovereignty needs
Amy Ball, EMEA lead at Suger.io
What does this mean for your business as an AWS channel partner?
"This really presents an opportunity for local public sector and highly regulated organisations, such as financial institutions, with data management concerns to embrace new technologies.
"This is where the biggest growth lies as these are the organisations that need our help the most due to their tendency to operate on legacy systems.
"This news offers them the chance to gain a greater sense of confidence, control, and choice, especially with the growing threat landscape.
"Businesses now have more and more corporate data to protect and therefore as a partner, we know our job is to guide these them to make the right choices."
Are you prepared for the extra investment in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud?
"Yes we are and as a business we have already committed to grow with the European region. This extra investment holds great significance for our company, customers and potential prospects.
"Innovation lies in expanding our presence and this means having a strategy focused on operations across Europe, to better serve our customers in this region and meet their growing needs."
Have you been receiving more questions about this from customers?
"Absolutely. It's been incredible to witness the overwhelming enthusiasm and curiosity from customers regarding this exciting news. I had the pleasure of attending the AWS Berlin Summit this week, where I had conversations revolving around this announcement, and saw genuine interest and eagerness."