Blog – Cloud technology has become the backbone of many companies thanks to scalability, flexibility and operational efficiency it can offer. However, increasing geopolitical tensions, changing laws and regulations and questions about digital sovereignty force European companies to reconsider their dependence on large American technology companies. Complete independence of the American cloud is not yet realistic, but a strategic, step -by -step approach can help to reduce dependence without making concessions on performance or safety.
Current geopolitical developments make Europe aware of the great dependence on American technology companies, in particular in the field of cloud computing and data management. For example, around seventy percent of all cloud infrastructure in Europe are hosted by American providers, while no less than eighty percent of European data is managed by American technology companies (CSIS). The European Union is concerned about this situation, and wants to increase our sovereignty with initiatives such as the EU Data Act and reduce dependence on non-European service providers.
You can also see the lack of balance in the merits of the cloud providers. For example, the turnover of European providers increased between 2017 and 2022 with 167 percent. In the same period, however, their market share fell sharply, from 27 to thirteen percent. At the end of that period, the three largest American suppliers jointly had 72 percent of the market, which shows that the difference in scale between European and American companies is enormous.
In response to that dominance, European governments and organizations are increasingly on their cloud strategy to strengthen digital sovereignty. Due to the strong position of American providers and the current limitations of European alternatives, that is a major challenge.
The most important obstacles:
- Limited plausible alternatives
There are European cloud providers, but their ecosystems are less extensive and lack the global reach of hyperscalers;
- Compatibility
To move workloads without interruption between cloud environments, an adult, standardized approach and access to technical expertise is required;
- Financial and technical obstacles
Complete independence can be at the expense of innovation, efficiency and maneuverability towards competitors;
- Security problems
European alternatives cannot always match the security investments, compliance features and digital resilience of hyperscalers, which can entail additional risks.
Why intervene now?
The obstacles mentioned above make it difficult to lower your dependence, while it is precisely this dependence. First, there are the geopolitical risks. Increasing tensions, sanctions and changing policy can influence access to data, applications and critical cloud services. If a hyperscaler also has operational or financial problems, American companies and government agencies are likely to be the first to receive support, making European companies more vulnerable.
It also ensures a poor negotiating position because, due to a lack of good alternatives, companies have been delivered to price models and service levels imposed by hyperscalers.
Too much trusting a handful of American suppliers means that companies that are highly dependent on those tech giants are increasingly confronted with compliance problems and legal risks as a result of increasingly strict EU regulations.
Cloud dependence is therefore not only an IT issue but a strategic business risk. The good news? With a structured approach you can limit those risks without this being at the expense of performance or innovation.
Step -by -step plan
There is no ready-made solution for cloud independence, because organizations are dealing with a mix of various technological, financial and legal challenges. Nevertheless, a step -by -step, strategic approach that has maneuverability and flexibility as a starting point can help to take the first steps in reducing American dependence.
Be the first to think how dependent you want to be. Organizations must integrate considerations on sovereignty in their decisions on continuity, security measures and the legislation they are subject to.
- Determine what degree of dependence on American digital services is acceptable to your organization;
- Develop a strategy for the medium and long term that integrates sovereignty in IT decision to formation;
- Coordinate sovereignty and business goals, risk management and legislation and regulations so that sovereignty helps you to support growth and compliance.
- Mapping dependencies and securing critical infrastructure
To get control, insight is needed into the processes that depend on the cloud, together with direct precautions to guarantee business continuity.
- Identify cloud dependencies and the consequences for your business processes to properly assess the associated risks;
- Make (backups of) data that is hosted on European servers of European companies;
- Take safety measures for critical infrastructure services such as DNS and Identity & Access Management.
- Cloud providers evaluate and diversify
Diversification is important to avoid Vendor Lock-in. Investigate alternatives and test them, in order to increase your flexibility.
- Research which alternative cloud providers from the EU are suitable as an alternative;
- Experiment with alternative suppliers to map the feasibility and risks of a possible switch;
- Develop an exit strategy that guarantees flexibility and prevents Vendor Lock-in.
- Create an architecture that supports portability
An agile, portable architecture forms the basis of cloud sovereignty. Hybrid solutions and standardization ensure operational flexibility.
- Research the feasibility of on-premise hosting platforms as part of a hybrid strategy;
- Standardize applications using containers (kubernetes, open shift) for more compatibility;
- Design applications with different abstraction layers so that you can easily move between different cloud providers, making it easier for you to move applications and data.
- Bring cloud sovereignty and governance together
Cloud independence is not a separate project but a continuous effort where clear frameworks are necessary for governance.
- Make cloud independence a starting point for purchases and investments in technology;
- Prepare selection criteria for sovereignty when choosing suppliers and IT architecture.
Approach
With this approach you go further than just making your organization agile. It helps you to build a cloud strategy that improves the trust, resilience, control and sustainability of the long -term organization. This is not a change that is completed within a day, but a continuous process of evaluation, adjustment and risk reduction.
It leads to greater resilience because it reduces dependence on large tech companies. This creates a stronger negotiating position thanks to a diversified cloud portfolio and long -term flexibility. The compliance also benefits because sovereignty meets the objectives of rapidly changing EU legislation, and increases safety through greater control over company information. In this way companies not only limit their risks, but they also take the lead on their digital future.
Although a complete farewell to hyperscalers is not yet realistic, a well -considered planning, a manoeuvrable infrastructure and a good version help to lay a solid foundation for a sovereign digital future.
Maarten Vervoorn, CTO YAWORKS
