Europe commits €1,2 billion to advance the European cloud

20, Dec - NEWS

The European Commission has allocated €1,2 billion in an effort to increase EU companies' participation in cloud technology in the face of US vendor dominance.

With US cloud providers - led by the trio of AWS, Google and Microsoft - still holding nearly 80% of the public cloud market on the old continent, the European Commission is providing financial support to European players. "Member States will provide up to €1,2 billion in public funding", states the Commission. "This amount will leverage a further €1,4 billion in private investment, bringing the total investment in the project to around €2,6 billion".

These investments are being made within the framework of a major project of pan-European interest (IPCEI) dedicated to cloud technologies, jointly notified in spring 2022 by France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy, and Spain. Nineteen companies are participating in this IPCEI, as well as more than 90 indirect partners (startups, SMEs, large companies, etc.). These include Atos, Capgemini, OVH and Orange in France, Telefonica in Spain and Siemens in Germany. The IPCEI cloud is nothing new: Europe will soon be looking at the cradle of European sovereign cloud within three years. It remains to be seen how the funds will be used in practice and who will benefit from them, as the Commission has been particularly vague on the matter.

Cloud goals, to say the least

"This IPCEI will seek to develop software to integrate cloud and edge capabilities offered by different vendors, forming what is known in technical jargon as the cloud-edge multivendor continuum", states the Brussels guidance. "This will allow multiple companies to offer interoperable cloud and edge services that are accessible to all. The development and use of common software blocks will guarantee interoperability and ensure that data centers at the edge of the network are open to multiple compatible service providers. In this way, data can be processed appropriately and sustainably in close proximity to the user in complete security".

Overall, these investments are an important step in the EU's efforts to strengthen its cloud sovereignty. They can help European companies reduce their dependence on US suppliers and increase their competitiveness in the global economy.