There are signs that we might see a change in the approach of cloud buyers over the next few months as more consider whether it would be wise to keep key data sets closer to home – if not on-premises, then in data centres that are located in the UK and Ireland, or mainland Europe.
In November last year, a Gartner survey found that 61% of CIOs and tech leaders in Western Europe were saying that they expect to use local cloud providers more. It also stated that by 2030, 75% of all enterprises outside the US will have a digital sovereignty strategy. Changes would take place at governmental level too. At the start of this year, the EU announced that it was preparing to introduce digital infrastructure laws that would lead to a reduction in the union’s dependence on foreign technology companies.
This growing trend has spurred public cloud providers to act. AWS has invested in building sovereign cloud facilities in Europe. Microsoft announced its Sovereign Cloud for Europe in June and Google Cloud launched its first Sovereign Cloud Hub in Munich last November.
Whatever the motivation of cloud buyers, it seems certain that this will become an increasingly high priority for organisations, and we will see a marked shift towards hybrid infrastructures. As well as on-premises resources, they will use multiple cloud services, some located close to home, others in more distant locations. They will need more help with decision-making, migrating workloads and data, orchestrating and managing all their resources, and ensuring the whole infrastructure is fully secured. The approach to DR and backup is also going to become even more critical.
For cloud partners this is unquestionably an opportunity, but also one that increases complexity. It will also compel partners to keep right up to date on the options available and on the way regulation and compliance is changing the dynamics for customers. It’s going to be an interesting year in the cloud.
Discover TD SYNNEX’s cloud services on Trusted Advisor.
Inspired by…
A pivotal 2026 for cloud strategy
61% of CIOs and IT leaders in Western Europe to increase reliance on local cloud providers
EU prepares laws to reduce dependence on foreign tech giants in 2026
Opening the AWS European Sovereign Cloud
Microsoft unveils Sovereign Cloud for Europe
Google Cloud launches first Sovereign Cloud Hub in Munich
