SAP announces major investments in digital sovereignty for Europe. SAP will invest 20 billion euros in a fully SAP-managed sovereign cloud over the coming years. With SAP Cloud Infrastructure and SAP Sovereign Cloud On-Site, the German software company wants to give European customers complete control over their data and infrastructure.
SAP is significantly expanding its sovereign cloud offering. Organizations will have various options for retaining more control over infrastructure, platform, and software within European borders. A full-stack infrastructure solution for large organizations within Europe is in the works. To make this possible, SAP will invest 20 billion euros in new digital sovereign solutions over the coming years.
This investment should make Europe more digitally independent from American hyperscalers in the long term. SAP’s investment focuses specifically on secure local cloud solutions that comply with all laws and regulations. It is primarily targeting the public sector and highly regulated industries. In doing so, it is competing with the major American cloud players, all of which have also recently introduced sovereign cloud solutions. The significant difference, however, is that American cloud players cannot fully comply with European laws and regulations due to their American roots. SAP is a German organization and is not affected by this.
The comprehensive sovereign cloud offering
SAP Cloud Infrastructure runs entirely in Europe. All data remains stored within EU borders. It complies with European privacy legislation and sovereign cloud requirements. Organizations that require the highest levels of control can opt for SAP Sovereign Cloud On-Site, a self-managed infrastructure hosted within the customer’s own data centers.
For the German public sector, there is Delos Cloud. Delos is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAP, providing IT services to German government agencies. This enables them to digitize quickly and meet specific requirements for digital sovereignty. One of the things Delos can also offer is a fully SAP-managed Microsoft 365 environment, to which Microsoft has no access whatsoever. All innovations are controlled by SAP and the German government.
From German government to European government cloud
In the Netherlands, for example, there is also a desire for a dedicated government cloud; however, this initiative is currently challenging to realize. However, it’s a desire that is shared by many other European countries. SAP is in talks with many of these countries, but each country has its own requirements. SAP would like to move away from these requirements and is attempting to get all European countries to adopt a single standard, allowing it to roll out a European government cloud for all European countries. Whether this will happen remains to be seen.
Sustainable sovereignty
Martin Merz, president of SAP Sovereign Cloud, emphasizes that Europe’s digital resilience requires secure, scalable, and future-proof sovereignty. Organizations are given the freedom to choose their own implementation model. At the same time, they can more easily meet the strictest compliance standards.
With SAP Sovereign Cloud, customers not only retain control over their infrastructure, they also leverage the full potential of all SAP cloud solutions. Organizations can run the SAP Business Suite in sovereign environments and benefit from continuous innovations such as the SAP Business Technology Platform and integrated AI capabilities.
SAP Sovereign Cloud is supported by hundreds of local experts and a wide range of certifications. Customers gain complete sovereignty over data, technology, operations, and legal frameworks. This allows organizations to maintain control, comply with laws and regulations, and continue to innovate with confidence.
Europe’s AI leadership
The SAP Sovereign Cloud also offers many opportunities for AI. SAP is also convinced that AI will drive the next phase of innovation in Europe. “Europe’s leadership in the next phase of digital innovation, and certainly in the field of AI, depends on how effectively we deploy AI for concrete and distinctive applications in industry,” says Thomas Saueressig of SAP.
These sovereign solutions make the full range of cloud innovations and AI capabilities accessible to all markets. The public sector and regulated environments will also have access to these innovations within a sovereign framework.
Also read: SAP CEO says EU doesn’t need a massive AI buildout. Is he right?