Cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure have become fundamental tools for governments and companies of all sizes in Europe. Logic is simple: instead of investing in their own servers, they can access powerful technological resources under a payment model for use.
It is a scheme that has given good results for years, but in recent times certain inconveniences have emerged. To the costs, which in certain cases are higher than expected, new concerns of geopolitical nature are now added. These concerns began to gain strength with the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and are taking some actors in the old continent to consider a change of course.
Europe begins to look beyond the United States
A little over a week ago, near a hundred European organizations signed an open letter addressed to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, already Henna Virkkunen, digital head of the EU. They claim “Radical actions“To reduce the dependence on foreign digital services. The document urges to bet on local solutions, covered by hardware to cloud platforms.
Practically in parallel, the Parliament of the Netherlands approved eight motions that ask the Government to replace the software and hardware of American origin for solutions developed by local companies. The intention is to sign new contracts with Dutch suppliers that offer equivalent services and, in a broader look, reinforce the country’s digital sovereignty through a national cloud based on local technology.
In addition, as Wired points out, European suppliers such as Exoscale – a company based in Switzerland – are registering a notable Increase in demand of their services, promoted by customers who seek to move away from the American cloud giants. According to his CEO, Mathias Nöbauer, even in Denmark there are companies that are distanced by tensions between the Trump administration and the Danish government for the Greenland issue.
There are still no signs that European governments and companies are moving in mass to local alternatives is happening right now, although as we have seen, there are several initiatives underway and some actors taking the first steps. An exodus would be bad news for American technological ones, who have adopted several changes in recent times to protect European clients and prevent them from fleeing to other platforms.
In this context, some foreign companies have begun to install servers within the European Union with the aim of ensuring that the data is stored in Community territory. At the same time, security systems have been implemented that limit access exclusively to the clients themselves. As we mentioned before, cloud services are the basis of many fundamental components that work without pause.
A complicated task from where he looks at her
Changing supplier in the cloud is not a simple decision. Beyond whether it is an American or European platform, every migration process implies a high workload, possible interruptions in operations and meticulous planning. To this are added specific risks, such as the loss of data or compatibility problems between systems, especially when the architectures are not aligned.
Even in ideal scenarios, where everything goes as planned, the process can be more than desired. The necessary time will depend largely on the size and complexity of the organization, as well as the services involved. In companies with critical operations, a provider change requires more than will: strategy, technical resources and sufficient margin to absorb any unplanned impact is needed.
Images | Alexandre Lallemand | DC Studio
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