Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled an ambitious plan for its European Sovereign Cloud, set to launch in Brandenburg, Germany, by the end of 2025. This development reflects AWS’s commitment to meeting Europe’s stringent data sovereignty standards. It’s a significant move, particularly for public sector institutions and regulated industries that require heightened data compliance and regional control.
The new cloud region, entirely separate from other AWS global areas, will see operations managed solely by EU-resident AWS employees. This includes the use of local certificates and dedicated networking infrastructure obtained from European providers, ensuring full control of the entire cloud stack within the EU. The aim is to adhere to strict sovereignty and security standards set by the region.
AWS plans to set up the sovereign cloud region under a company structure that includes a parent company and three subsidiaries, all based in Germany. Kathrin Renz, a current vice president at AWS, will lead this new initiative. The management approach reflects a shift toward localized governance with an advisory board composed only of EU citizens, ensuring transparency and accountability in sovereignty-related matters.
Additionally, AWS will equip the sovereign cloud with a Security Operations Center (SOC), staffed by EU citizens. This SOC will monitor security and manage threats following global best practices but within a local framework. Notably, the cloud region is designed to operate independently from the main global AWS infrastructure, catering to needs such as uninterrupted services like Amazon Route 53 and other critical functionalities.
AWS also introduces the Sovereign Requirements Framework (SRF), a comprehensive set of guidelines formulated with input from European customers and regulators. This framework aims to integrate sovereignty throughout the service layers, with independent auditors validating compliance.
This significant endeavor comes with a hefty €7.8 billion investment backing the implementation of this standalone regional cloud operation. The services provided will cover a wide range, including artificial intelligence, compute, containers, databases, networking, and security services, with offerings like Amazon Bedrock and Amazon SageMaker.
This initiative is part of a larger AWS global expansion narrative, with 114 Availability Zones in 35 regions currently in place. AWS has plans to add 16 additional zones and establish five new regions, including Chile, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia.