Pegasystems is working closely with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to give European customers more control over their data storage and processing. The workflow automation specialist is building the Pega EU Service Boundary on top of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud. This is especially important for European companies in highly regulated industries such as the public sector and financial services.
The Pega EU Service Boundary offers European companies the assurance that their data not only stays within the EU but is also managed by EU employees. This choice stems from increasingly stringent European laws and regulations surrounding digital residency. Integrating Pega’s advanced cloud capabilities (such as strict data isolation and access controls) with the AWS European Sovereign Cloud should ensure customers’ digital sovereignty at every level, from the Pega platform and supporting technologies to the underlying infrastructure.
The Pega EU Service Boundary infrastructure is physically and logistically separated from other AWS regions, which prevents customer data from wandering and unexpectedly going back and forth between regions. At the same time, there are no limitations in using AWS, and all the capabilities that this hyperscaler already offers in terms of security, availability, and performance remain available. This Pega product’s launch runs concurrently with that of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, due in late 2025.
‘Additional security’
According to Frank Guerrera, Chief Technical Systems Officer at Pega, introducing this new solution is an important step forward. “The introduction of the Pega EU Service Boundary and the partnership with AWS give customers additional assurance about the security and management of their data.” Max Peterson, Vice President of AWS Sovereign Cloud, added, “With Pega EU Service Boundary on the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, customers in highly regulated industries can continue to innovate while complying with required laws and regulations.”
The idea behind the development of sovereign clouds or cloud regions is that data that needs to stay within Europe is guaranteed to stay there. It is a response to developments surrounding the CLOUD Act in the U.S., among other things. This states that data stored abroad within cloud environments of American companies can be accessed by the American government.
Lots of attention for sovereign clouds
Several public cloud providers are now busy building sovereign clouds to address European concerns. Microsoft and Google seem to be looking to cooperate with local, European parties. For example, Orange and Capgemini have jointly founded the cloud provider Bleu in France. This is basically an Azure cloud, but not owned by Microsoft. Google Cloud is doing something similar with T-Systems in Germany.
AWS in particular is investing huge amounts in building data centers on the continent that are subject to European rules. For example, the company is spending billions to expand its data center in Italy. Earlier, AWS announced it was spending some 7.8 billion euros to expand existing capacity in Frankfurt. The Amazon unit is also putting 15.7 billion euros into the Spanish region of Aragon.
Read more: Who will turn Europe into more than a digital dependency?