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Europe's future: Between US dominance and sovereign innovation

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Published on: June 11, 2025 / update from: June 11, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Europe's future: Between US dominance and sovereign innovation

Europe's future: Between US dominance and sovereign innovation-Image: Xpert.digital

Analysis of the European position in the global cloud competition and strategies to strengthen competitiveness and digital sovereignty

Digital sovereignty instead of scaling: Europe's clever cloud computing approach-Why data sovereignty is more important than market shares

The global cloud computing market is indisputably dominated by American hyperscalers. This reality presents European ambitions to create a significant counterweight, with considerable challenges. The mere establishment of new, EU-funded data centers will not be sufficient to compete with the sheer scaling and financial strength of giants such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Nevertheless, Europe has unique strengths and pursues strategies that go beyond pure infrastructure competition. The focus on data sovereignty, based on strict regulatory framework such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), forms a central pillar. European initiatives such as GAIA-X and the IPCEI-CIS (important project of a common European interest in cloud infrastructure and services) do not aim to create new hyperscalers, but on the interoperable data infrastructures and ecosystems. These are intended to promote innovation, strengthen the digital sovereignty of users and reduce provider binding effects.

Innovative competitive advantages are shown in the development of industry-specific data rooms, such as Catena-X for the automotive industry or the European area for health data (EHDS). In the area of ​​artificial intelligence (AI), also promising European actors and initiatives arise that rely on transparency, openness and European values. The path of Europe to a resistant and innovative cloud ecosystem lies in the intelligent differentiation, the use of its regulatory strengths and the promotion of collaborative, sovereign solutions, instead of a direct confrontation with the US hyper scales on their own field.

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The dominance of the US hyperscaler: an undeniable market room

The landscape of cloud computing is largely shaped by a small group of American technology giants. Their market power, financial strength and global infrastructure define the rules of the game and represent an immense challenge for European actors.

Representation of the current market shares and financial strength

The numbers speak a clear language: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud together control an overwhelming proportion of the global market for cloud infrastructure services. In the first quarter of 2025, AWS reached a market share of 29 %, followed by Microsoft with 22 %and Google Cloud with 12 %. This concentration illustrates the considerable market power that lies in the hands of these three companies. Their dominance is underpinned by impressive sales figures: AWS generated $ 29.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025, Microsoft's “Intelligent Cloud” $ 26.8 billion and Google Cloud $ 12.3 billion. This financial potency enables you to invest massive sums in the expansion of your infrastructure as well as in research and development. For example, Microsoft plans to invest around $ 80 billion in AI-enabled data centers in the 2025 financial year alone, which underlines the strategic importance of AI for future growth.

In the first quarter of 2025, the entire market for cloud infrastructure services grew by a considerable 23 % to almost $ 94 billion. This growth is increasingly powered by applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Genai-specific services in particular recorded explosive growth of 140 % to 160 %. This development additionally increases the position of the hyperscaler, as they have the necessary resources in order to provide and continue the arithmetic-intensive AI infrastructure. The ability to offer top AI services attracts more customers and thus consolidates their market position in a self-reinforcing cycle. This makes it even more difficult for European providers who do not have comparable capital and F&E capacity for AI infrastructure to gain a foothold in general cloud market.

The challenge of scaling for European actors

The sheer size and the globally distributed infrastructure of the US hyperscales, which include numerous regions and availability zones, represent an enormous entry barrier. European cloud providers have a hard time generating a comparable scale efficiency, geographical reach and diversity of service. Although the European cloud market is growing steadily-from forecast 201.86 billion US dollars in 2025 to expected $ 428 billion by 2030-local providers in relation to market shares and global presence are significantly behind the US giants.

Despite the overwhelming dominance, the market is not completely static. While AWS is still a leader, the provider recorded a slight decline in its market share from 31 % in the first quarter of 2024 to 29 % in the first quarter of 2025. In the same period, Google Cloud was able to increase its share from 11 % to 12 %. Microsoft's market share also lost certain fluctuations. These, albeit low, shifts indicate that differentiated offers such as Google's strength in the AI ​​area, or strategic partnerships can affect market dynamics. This opens up potentially niches and opportunities for European providers, provided that they are able to offer clearly distinguishable added value, for example through superior sovereignty solutions or specialized industry expertise.

Worldwide market share and sales cloud infrastructure Q1 2025
Worldwide market share and sales cloud infrastructure Q1 2025

Worldwide market share and sales Cloud infrastructure Q1 2025-Image: Xpert.digital

This table illustrates the concentrated market power and the financial superiority of the leading US hyperscalers, which underlines the dimension of the challenge for European initiatives.

In the first quarter of 2025, Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominated the global cloud infrastructure market with a market share of 29 percent and sales of $ 29.3 billion with $ 17 percent. Microsoft Azure followed in second place with a market share of 22 percent and sales of $ 26.8 billion in the area of ​​intelligent cloud, with annual growth being 21 percent. Google Cloud took third place with a market share of 12 percent and sales of $ 12.3 billion, but was able to record the highest growth of 28 percent. Alibaba reached a market share of 4 percent, while Oracle claimed 3 percent of the market. The other providers shared a considerable market share of 30 percent. There were no detailed sales figures or growth rates available for Alibaba, Oracle and the other smaller providers.

Europe's cloud strategy: More than just a race for data centers

In view of the dominance of the US hyperscales, Europe is pursuing a cloud strategy that is not primarily focused on the construction of competing mass infrastructures, but on differentiation, sovereignty and the creation of innovative ecosystems.

Analysis of the core message: Are new EU-funded data centers the answer?

Many experts have seen the assumption that the establishment of new, EU-funded data centers can create an effective counterweight to the US hyperscales. SAP CEO Christian Klein described the attempt to compete against the established US providers with numerous individual data centers in Europe, as “completely crazy” and as a misguided interpretation of digital sovereignty. In his view, Europe primarily needs access to the best available technology to ensure the competitiveness of its key industries. He also pointed out the high energy costs in Europe that make the construction and operation of new, energy -intensive data centers unattractive. This assessment is supported by other experts who consider it “practically impossible” that European organizations could replicate the infrastructure scaling and efficiency of the US providers.

This perspective illustrates a central dilemma: European companies need access to the latest technology, which is often provided by US hyperscalers, while at the same time the call for digital sovereignty and independence becomes louder. This tension drives the development of pragmatic hybrid models. An example of this is the T-Systems sovereign cloud, which builds on Google Cloud's infrastructure, whereby T-Systems as a European company takes over sovereignty controls such as data residence and key management. Such models indicate that the European cloud landscape will be shaped by a variety of solutions in the future: from purely European sovereign clouds for highly sensitive data to hybrid approaches to direct use of hyperscal services for less critical applications. EU funding could therefore flow more effectively into the development of control layers, federation technologies and specialized infrastructures instead of the pure structure of generic data center capacity.

The logic behind European initiatives: Gaia-X and IPCEI-CIS

European initiatives such as GAIA-X and IPCEI-CIS pursue a fundamental approach. Your goal is not to establish another hyperscaler, but to create the framework conditions for a digital ecosystem based on European values ​​such as data sovereignty, interoperability, transparency and trust.

  • GAIA-X: This initiative strives to create a federated, open data infrastructure. Instead of building a central platform, GAIA-X should network existing cloud providers and their services via open interfaces and standards. This is intended to create an ecosystem in which data and services can be shared and replaced safely, trustingly and while maintaining control by the users. Gaia-X sees itself as a “proposal to Europe” that is open to the participation of all relevant actors, from large companies to SMEs to start-ups.
  • IPCEI-CIS (important project of a common European interest in cloud infrastructure and services): This ambitious project aims to develop a “multi-provider cloud edge continuum”. It is a decentralized environment that is intended to reduce technological dependencies on individual providers and so-called provider binding effects. The IPCEI-CIS in particular promotes AI and IoT-based business models and includes projects with a total volume of several billion euros. A key component is the “8RA” initiative, which is intended to ensure the long -term effect and sustainability of the project results. Sample projects such as APEIRORA that develops an open source blueprint for a cloud-edge infrastructure, or ROX, which focuses on AI-controlled robotics systems, illustrate the innovative character of the IPCEI CIS.

These initiatives indicate a strategic realignment: Instead of relying on the direct competition in the structure of monolithic infrastructures, Europe focuses on defining the “rules of the game” and orchestrating an interoperable ecosystem. The success of these projects will be measured less to the number of newly built data centers, but rather in the acceptance of the developed standards, the liveliness of the federated services and the degree of interoperability achieved between different providers. This represents a more subtle but potentially more effective form to create a counterweight to the existing market dominance. A particularly future-oriented aspect within the IPCEI CIS is the focus on “learning” for AI, as is pursued as part of a spring challenge. The aim is to enable the training of AI models across distributed, decentralized systems and to overcome hardware incompatibilities and to reduce the dependence on central servers. This approach directly addresses data protection concerns and the challenge of accumulating huge, centralized data records that are often used by American AI leaders. If this succeeds, Europe could develop powerful AI models without replicating the data concentration of the US giants, using its strengths in the area of ​​distributed data while maintaining data protection principles-an innovative competitive advantage in the AI ​​area.

Important European cloud and data initiatives
Important European cloud and data initiatives

Important European cloud and data initiatives- Image: Xpert.digital

This table illustrates the complexity of the European strategy based on cooperation, standardization and addressing specific technological and social challenges.

Europe pursues several important cloud and data initiatives to strengthen its digital sovereignty. GAIA-X develops a federated data infrastructure with the aim of ensuring data sovereignty, interoperability, trust and open standards. The initiative is financed by EU funds, national contributions and membership fees and combines companies, research institutions and the public sector. The focus is on federation, data rooms, standards and the development of a sustainable ecosystem.

IPCEI-CIS strives for the creation of a multi-provider cloud edge Continuum to reduce the dependency on individual providers and to promote the development of AI and IoT technologies as well as open source solutions. The project is financed by EU funds from next generation and national funding, whereby companies and research organizations act as the main actors. The focus is on cloud-edge technologies, decentralization, artificial intelligence and interoperability.

As part of IPCEI-CIS, the 8RA initiative focuses on the sustainability and long-term effect of the IPCEI CIS projects and the strengthening of the European market. The IPCEI CIS partners are working together on a long-term strategy and market development.

Investai plans the financing of AI gigafabrics to strengthen the digital sovereignty of Europe. For this planned initiative, an EU fund of 20 billion euros is scheduled, with large companies such as SAP and Siemens should be involved as central players. The focus is on building a robust AI infrastructure and promoting digital sovereignty.

 

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German cloud providers attack US giants with sovereign promises

Europe's strengths: data sovereignty, regulation and specialization

Europe can play specific strengths in the global cloud competition, which result from its regulatory environment, the focus on data sovereignty and the ability to specialize. These factors make it possible to create differentiated offers that meet the needs of European users.

The value of data sovereignty and GDPR conformity

Data sovereignty - the ability of states, companies and individuals to control their data - is a central concern in Europe. In view of extraterritorial legislation such as the US Cloud Act, the US authorities, under certain circumstances enables access to data stored by US companies (regardless of the location), European organizations are looking for solutions that protect their data from external access. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has set a global standard for data protection and has raised awareness of the importance of the protection of personal data.

European cloud providers are therefore increasingly positioning themselves as “trustworthy clouds”. You guarantee that data is stored and processed within the European Union and are therefore subject to only European law. Although US hyperscales also try to dispel concerns about data sovereignty through special offers for Europe or the establishment of EU-based cloud units, many European politicians and companies remain with regard to the actual independence of American jurisdictions. This situation creates a demand for cloud services that not only offer technical excellence, but also a maximum of legal and operational sovereignty. Sovereignty develops into a “premium feature” that can drive specialized hardware and software innovations. The guarantee of real operational and software sovereignty, such as that is defined by T-Systems for your sovereign cloud, can promote innovations in areas such as confidential arithmetic (e.g. Enclaive's partnership with OVHCloud), external key management and audit mechanisms. This opens up Europe the opportunity to establish a sub-market for high-safe cloud services, in which sovereign guarantees justify a price surcharge and at the same time stimulates F&E in the area of ​​security technologies.

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Examples of European cloud providers with a focus on sovereign solutions

Several European providers specialize in the provision of sovereign cloud solutions:

  • Ovhcloud: As one of the leading European cloud providers, Ovhcloud is not subject to the US laws and has received the strict secnumcloud qualification of the French security authority Anssi for parts of his offer. The company offers solutions that are specially tailored to the requirements of the public sector and the processing of sensitive data, whereby data sovereignty and security are in the foreground. The partnership with Enclaive in the field of confidential arithmetic underlines the commitment to innovative security approaches.
  • Ionos: This provider guarantees a GDPR-compliant data storage exclusively in Germany. Ionos offers a “Compute Engine corporate cloud” and big data platforms that attach particular importance to data sovereignty, avoiding provider binding and open standards.
  • T-Systems Sovereign Cloud (powered by Google Cloud): This model represents a pragmatic hybrid approach. T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, takes over the management of sovereignty controls-such as guaranteed data residence in Germany, external key management and strict access controls-for Google Cloud services that are used in Germany. This enables German companies and organizations of the public sector to use Google Cloud's advanced technologies and at the same time ensure compliance with European sovereignty requirements.

The increasing presence of “sovereign” offers also on the part of the US hyperscales means that the definition of “sovereignty” itself becomes a competitive factor. Clear definitions, certifications (such as Secnumcloud) and transparency mechanisms, such as the labeling framework developed by GAIA-X, will be crucial in order to distinguish really European-controlled offers from those that could potentially continue to be subject to foreign jurisdictions despite local data storage. For European bodies and providers, this means to precisely define and make sovereign claims.

The role of open, fed models and standards

Initiatives such as Gaia-X and IPCEI-CIS are central to the European strategy because they promote open standards and federated architectures. This approach aims to ensure interoperability between different service providers and to reduce the dependence on individual providers (provider binding). In a federated system, users can flexibly combine and keep full control over their data. The focus is on the creation of a living ecosystem that stimulates innovation and, in particular, makes access to advanced digital technologies easier.

Examples of European sovereign cloud offers and their main features
Examples of European sovereign cloud offers and their main features

Examples of European sovereign cloud offers and their main features-Image: Xpert.digital

This table shows concrete examples of how European providers and partnerships try to cover the need for sovereign cloud solutions and highlight specific features that distinguish them from global standard offers.

In the landscape of European sovereign cloud offers, various providers have established themselves with specific features that are geared towards different target groups. With its hosted private cloud and public cloud, Ovhcloud positions itself as a solution for the public sector as well as companies with sensitive data and regulated industries. Sovereignty is guaranteed by data residence within the EU, whereby no submission is made under US laws. In addition, the offer has partially secnumcloud qualification, is GDPR-compliant and offers confidential calculation in cooperation with Enclaive.

With its Ionos Cloud and the S3 Object Storage, Ionos is primarily aimed at small and medium -sized companies as well as organizations with strict data protection requirements. The data residence is limited to Germany, which ensures GDPR conformity. Particularly noteworthy is the strategy to avoid provider tie through the use of open standards, which enables more flexibility in cloud use.

T-Systems follows a different approach with its sovereign cloud solution based on Google Cloud. The sovereign controls for Google Cloud provide special sovereign functions, while the data residence remains in Germany. A special feature is the external key management through T-Systems and the control of access by the company itself. The EU-based support rounds off the offer, which is mainly aimed at the public sector, German companies and regulated industries.

 

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From the GDPR to AI gigafabriken: Europe's strategic way to digital sovereignty

Innovative niches and specific competitive advantages

Europe can strengthen its competitive position in the cloud sector by focusing on innovative niches and playing specific advantages based on its industrial strengths, its regulatory framework and its collaborative approach.

Industry -specific data rooms and platforms as European strength

A promising path for Europe lies in the creation of industry -specific data rooms and platforms. These “X ecosystems” are often based on the principles of GAIA-X and represent a unique European approach to solve complex, industry-wide challenges collaborative and while maintaining data sovereignty. While hyperscaler generic infrastructure and platforms offer, these European initiatives aim at highly specialized, domain -specific data ecosystems. It is not just about storing data, but also about enabling complex, multi-page collaborations, the standardization of data exchange for specific industrial processes and the implementation of governance rules that are relevant for the respective sectors. This is a degree of specialization that generic hyperscaler offers do not offer easily.

  • Catena-X: This project establishes a decentralized data space especially for the automotive industry. The goal is a confident and standardized data exchange along the entire value chain, from suppliers to manufacturers. Applications include the management of demand and capacity, traceability of components and the improvement of sustainability, for example through the precise recording and reduction of CO2 emissions. The interoperability of applications of different providers is a core principle, with supplying the Catena-X-compliant applications as a partner.
  • Manufacturing-X: As an initiative funded by the German Federal Government, Manufacturing-X aims to strengthen competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of the German and European production industry through digitization. An open digital ecosystem for all manufacturing sectors is aimed at, which is based on open standards and enables digital sovereignty for the participating companies.
  • European area for health data (EHDS): The EHDS creates a common legal framework for the use and cross -border exchange of electronic health data within the EU. It is intended to give citizens more control over their health data and at the same time enable the secondary use of this data for research, innovation and political decision-making under strict, GDPR-compliant conditions and with opt-out opportunities for citizens.

Due to the establishment of such industry -specific data rooms, Europe can build -up competitive advantages in strategically important industries. This uses the strong industrial basis of the continent and its regulatory pioneering role, as in the case of the EHD and the sensitive health data. Success depends on broad acceptance and real interoperability.

Advances in AI and Edge Computing in Europe

There are also promising European developments in the promising areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and Edge Computing:

  • Mistral Ai: The start-up Mistral Ai based in Paris quickly made a name for itself by developing powerful open source language models that are considered a European alternative to the models of the great US AI providers. The focus on transparency, adaptability and European AI sovereignty hits a nerve. The strategic partnerships with established cloud providers such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud as well as IBM show a pragmatic approach to achieve broad availability and use of your own models. The significant financing rounds that Mistral Ai has successfully completed underline investors' trust in the potential of European AI innovation. Mistral Ai pursues an “open but pragmatic” strategy: The openweight models address the need for transparency and sovereignty, while the partnerships with global cloud providers secure the reach. This model - European innovation, open approach, use of global infrastructure - could be a template for other European technology companies. It acknowledges that infrastructure scaling is difficult to replicate, but intellectual property and specialized models can be globally competitive.
  • German AI Center Center Initiative: According to reports, leading German companies such as SAP, Deutsche Telekom, Ionos, the Schwarz Group and Siemens are negotiating on EU funding for the establishment of so-called AI gigafabrics. In particular, the cooperation between industrial companies such as Siemens and SAP with technology providers such as Nvidia to create an AI-driven industrial ecosystem indicates a concentration on specialized AI infrastructures for key industries. This signals a change to “strategic autonomy” with critical AI infrastructure, which is crucial for the future viability of European industry, and less about competition in generic cloud services.
  • IPCEI-CIS focus on edge computing and decentralized AI: The development of a “multi-provider cloud-edge continuum” as well as research in the field of “learning” for AI show clear ambitions in the field of distributed intelligence. This aims to bring computing power and data processing closer to the location of the data and at the same time develop new methods for training AI models in decentralized environments.

Collaborative ecosystems and open source contributions

Another important feature of the European strategy is to emphasize collaboration and openness. The strong orientation towards open source principles, such as Mistral AI or the APEIRORA project as part of the IPCEI CIS, as well as the development of open standards (e.g. through GAIA-X and Catena-X), promote innovation to avoid binding providers, and enable broader participation of various actors. Typically, European initiatives focus on the close cooperation between industry, research institutions and the public sector in order to create synergies and to develop practical solutions.

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Europe's path to a resistant and innovative cloud ecosystem

In order to not only exist in the global competition of the cloud technologies, but also to take an independent and strong position, Europe must take a strategic path that builds on its specific strengths and at the same time recognizes the realities of the market.

Recommendations to strengthen European position

Strengthening the European position in the cloud sector requires a bundle of measures:

  • Focus on differentiation instead of imitation: Europe should not use its resources to copy the infrastructures of the US hyperscalers exactly. Instead, it is important to identify and fill niches in which Europe can take on a leadership role. This includes in particular cloud solutions that meet the highest demands on data sovereignty, industry-specific platforms for strategically important sectors as well as the development of trustworthy AI applications that meet European values ​​and regulatory requirements.
  • Consistent promotion of open standards and interoperability: Initiatives such as Gaia-X and IPCEI-CIS are crucial for creating a living, federated ecosystem. Consistent promotion and enforcement of open standards and interoperability protocols can help to break down data silos, to increase the freedom of choice of users and to enable innovations through wider participation.
  • Support European cloud providers and AI champions: European companies that develop innovative cloud services or AI solutions, such as Mistral AI, need targeted support. This can be done through public investments, the creation of favorable regulatory framework and the promotion of demand from the public sector and industry.
  • Pragmatic approaches to cooperation with global providers: Where it serves the European goals of sovereignty and innovation, pragmatic cooperation models should not be excluded with global technology providers. The model of the T-Systems Sovereign cloud in partnership with Google Cloud is an example of how advanced technology can be used by global players, while at the same time European control and sovereignty requirements are preserved.

The importance of continuous investments in innovation and specialists

In the long term, Europe can only secure its technological sovereignty and competitiveness if it invests massively and continuously in research and development. This applies not only to the core areas of cloud computing and AI, but also adjacent technology fields such as Edge Computing, Quante Computing and Cyber ​​Security. The training and further education of specialists is also decisive. The lack of qualified IT specialists is already an obstacle to digital transformation. Programs for promoting digital skills at all levels of the education system as well as retraining and further education initiatives for working people are essential. The fact that Microsoft wants to train 2.5 million people in AI skills in the United States alone shows the dimension of the challenge and should serve as an incentive for increased European efforts. The long-term success of the European cloud strategy depends largely on whether it is possible to create a “talent and innovation swinging bike effect” that works regardless of the ecosystems of the hyperscaler. Pragmatic partnerships are necessary at short notice, but true resilience and innovative strength require a self-supporting European structure of talents, research, start-ups and investments.

The vision of a “European path” in the cloud: an ecosystem of trust and innovation

Europe has the chance to establish a cloud model that is not only characterized by technical performance, but is also based on its fundamental values: strong data protection, transparency, fair competition and a technology design based on humans. The existing and emerging regulatory framework works, such as the GDPR, the AI ​​Act and the Data Act, can serve both as a protective shield and as a catalyst for European cloud innovations. The GDPR has already inspired the demand for sovereign cloud solutions. The EU data law and the AI ​​law can, if they are implemented prudently, create a predictable and trustworthy environment, favor the company that integrates compliance and ethical considerations into their products and services from the start. This can become a “home advantage”. However, it is important to find a balance in which regulation promotes the development of unique, trustworthy European cloud and AI services instead of only creating compliance loads. This also means actively shaping global standards based on European values, as Gaia-X tries.

Such a “European path” would not only strengthen the digital sovereignty of the continent, but could also serve globally as a model for a responsible handling of data and digital technologies.

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From the GDPR to Manufacturing-X: How Europe turns its industrial strengths into cloud advantages

The analysis of the European position in the global cloud market shows a complex picture. The dominance of the US hyperscales in terms of market shares, financial resources and infrastructure scaling is a reality that cannot be ignored. The direct competition for these giants at pure infrastructure level is hard to win for European actors and should not be the primary goal of European strategies. Rather, the strength of Europe is a differentiated approach.

Europe's path to a resistant and innovative cloud ecosystem is based on several pillars:

  • Data sovereignty and regulation: The GDPR has set a global standard and sharpened the awareness of data protection. European providers and initiatives, which focus on data sovereignty, serve growing demand and can thus stand out from global standard offers.
  • Specialized industry solutions: Initiatives such as Catena-X, Manufacturing-X and the European Space for Health Data show how Europe can generate unique added value through the creation of industry-specific data spaces and platforms. These use the strong industrial foundations in Europe and address specific needs that are often not covered by generic cloud offers.
  • Federated models and open standards: GAIA-X and IPCEI-CIS rely on networking, interoperability and avoiding provider tie effects. This approach promotes an open ecosystem that enables innovations out of width and strengthens the digital sovereignty of the users.
  • Targeted innovations: Especially in the area of ​​artificial intelligence, actors such as Mistral Ai are promising European alternatives that rely on transparency, openness and European values. Investments in specialized AI infrastructures and Edge computing are also important building blocks.

The challenge for Europe is to use these strengths intelligently and to develop them consistently. It is not about copying the US hyperscales, but taking their own, complementary and superior way in specific areas. This requires continuous investments in research, development and specialists as well as a clever industrial policy that promotes innovation and at the same time maintains European values. If this succeeds, Europe can create a cloud ecosystem that is not only technologically progressive and economically successful, but also enjoys the trust of its citizens and companies and ensures the digital sovereignty of the continent sustainably.

 

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