AWS unveiled the Digital Sovereignty Pledge. The tech giant vows to invest in data sovereignty in an attempt to comply with local laws and regulations.
Data sovereignty is the requirement to process data according to the laws and regulations of the location where the data was collected or generated.
The topic is relevant for all public cloud providers. Organizations like AWS, Google and Microsoft must take measures to comply with the local laws and regulations of customers. In any other case, some organizations are unable to use their services.
Digital Sovereignty Pledge
AWS has invested in data sovereignty since its founding in 2006. The US tech giant has always managed to serve European customers. According to AWS, customers have become increasingly concerned with the data sovereignty of its cloud services over the past two years. The organization recently brought attention to the topic in a written statement.
AWS said that more and more companies fear they’ll have to switch to providers of ‘sovereign clouds’. The tech giant considers ‘sovereign clouds’ to be a marketing term. AWS believes that every public cloud should be a sovereign cloud. In its own words, the organization is ‘sovereign-by-design’.
“We firmly believe that customers shouldn’t have to make a choice”, AWS wrote. “This is why we’re introducing the AWS Digital Sovereignty Pledge — our commitment to offering all AWS customers the most advanced set of sovereignty controls and features available in the cloud.”
The organization did not announce any new products or release dates. Instead, AWS shed light on existing data sovereignty solutions, including data residency and local encryption. The organization repeatedly emphasized its commitment to data sovereignty.
Competition
AWS is the latest in a series of cloud providers that have brought attention to the topic in recent months. Microsoft and Google also announced privacy measures for European customers. All three organizations are based in the United States. The tech giants have to comply with the laws and regulations of both the United States and the countries of customers.
Local cloud providers such as OVHcloud have it easier. The organization primarily operates in the European Union. As a result, OVHcloud can serve European customers with relative ease. With its statement, AWS claims its cloud is as suitable for international customers as the clouds of local competitors.
Techzine is attending AWS re:Invent this week. Keep an eye on the website for more. You can find the most important news in this overview.
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