Against the backdrop of growing unease over data control, Amazon has rolled out a new cloud offering designed exclusively for Europe. The move aims to reassure governments and businesses worried about how data is handled by providers headquartered in the United States.
Amazon Web Services has launched the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a cloud service that is fully based in Europe and operates independently from the company’s U.S. infrastructure. AWS said the data centres will be physically and legally separate from its other global servers.
According to Michael Hanisch, Chief Technology Officer of AWS Germany, the new cloud is designed to keep running even if the European Union were cut off from the internet or if the United States restricted software exports. He shared these details with a news agency.
European demand for local alternatives has been rising as concerns grow over how foreign laws may affect data stored overseas. Under the Cloud Act, U.S.-based companies can be required to provide data access to authorities even when that data is stored outside the country.
AWS is not alone in facing this pressure. Other major U.S. cloud providers are also adjusting their strategies. Microsoft stores European customer data only in data centres located within Europe when requested. Google announced €5.5 billion ($6.41 billion) in investments in German data centres last year to strengthen its regional footprint.
AWS confirmed that its first European Sovereign Cloud data centre is under construction in Brandenburg, the German state surrounding Berlin. Additional facilities are planned in Germany and other European countries. The total investment backing this effort will exceed €7.8 billion, Hanisch said.
The company stated that the new cloud will include strict controls, sovereignty assurances, and legal safeguards to meet European government and enterprise standards for handling sensitive data.
Operations of the European cloud will be handled by a German company, with its management and advisory board made up entirely of EU citizens. Over time, all employees working on the platform will also be required to hold EU citizenship, according to Hanisch.
AWS said it does not have a specific customer target for the new cloud service, positioning it instead as a long-term response to Europe’s evolving data protection and sovereignty expectations.
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