AWS announces plans for European 'sovereign cloud' in Germany
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's cloud computing division, has confirmed its plans to launch a European "sovereign cloud." The first of its kind, this cloud region will be established in Brandenburg, Germany, and is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. This announcement was made during the AWS Berlin Summit, seven months after AWS initially disclosed plans for a sovereign cloud.
AWS commits €7.8 billion investment
AWS has announced a planned investment of €7.8 billion in the new sovereign cloud facility over a 15-year period until 2040. This move is aimed at enhancing data residency across Europe, addressing concerns over data management that have previously deterred public sector entities and highly-regulated industries, from transitioning to the public cloud. The European Sovereign Cloud will provide enhanced data controls, allowing qualifying customers to retain all their metadata within the EU.
Sovereign cloud to ensure enhanced data control
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be "physically and logically separate" from all other AWS regions. This separation is designed to prevent access by AWS employees based outside the EU, thereby ensuring enhanced data control. Despite Amazon's Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt initially referring to the concept of a "sovereign cloud" as "a marketing term more than anything else," AWS announced its "digital sovereignty pledge" in late 2022.
AWS's investment to boost job creation
Part of AWS's multi-billion dollar investment will be allocated toward creating new roles such as systems developers, software engineers, and solutions architects to support the European sovereign cloud. In addition, it is projected that an average of 2,800 full-time equivalent jobs, will be created annually in local German businesses through its supply chain. These jobs will span across various sectors including construction, facility maintenance, and telecommunications.
