GCP – How European organizations are innovating with Google Sovereign Cloud solutions

European organizations continue to embrace cloud-based solutions to support their ongoing digital transformation. But the adoption of breakthrough technologies like generative AI and data analytics to drive new innovations will only accelerate if organizations are confident that when they use cloud services their data will remain secure, private, and under their control. This is why the ability to achieve and maintain digital sovereignty is so critical, and why Google Cloud has brought to market the industry’s broadest portfolio of sovereign cloud solutions as part of our “Cloud. On Europe’s Terms” initiative.

We are excited to share some recent examples of how Google Cloud and our partners’ (like T-Systems in Germany and S3NS in France) range of sovereign cloud solutions have been a true business accelerator for numerous innovative European organizations over the course of this year. The ability to address their specific and unique needs for additional cloud controls have enabled them to move new workloads to the cloud, address regulatory mandates, gain efficiencies and scale, and boost customer confidence and trust.

Increasing trust in cloud services

Groupe AGPM is a French insurance company working with S3NS on their cloud transformation. “The cloud creates value for AGPM by accelerating our operational processes and we expect the project to drive a significant improvement in our performance” said Christian Gros, Director of Information Systems, AGPM. “As tangible benefits of AGPM’s ongoing move-to-cloud strategy, the first use cases will be available on the Local Controls by S3NS architecture from December 2023,” added Guillaume Hédoux, head of APGM’s Architecture and IT Transformation division.

ENIO develops and sells software for electromobility infrastructure and control and billing of services with electronic devices throughout Europe. The company used the application modernization capabilities of T-Systems Sovereign Cloud to containerize applications, improving flexibility, scalability, and cost, while helping to ensure GDPR-compliant data processing and storage.

Birdz is a leader in environmental IoT solutions working with S3NS to host their cloud-based applications. “At Birdz, we help our customers address their critical resource-management challenges through our comprehensive expertise in IoT sensors, IoT connectivity and data processing. Working with S3NS was therefore a natural choice. This partnership aligns with our strategy of supporting local digital transformation through highly secure, cloud-based services,” said Ludovic Millier, CIO, Birdz.

Processing personal data and other regulated data types

MindDoc offers simplified access to mental health care via an online telehealth service. Using the T-Systems Sovereign Cloud, MindDoc is able to meet German regulatory requirements regarding personal data while operating a digital health service. “With T-Systems Sovereign Cloud powered by Google Cloud, many hurdles with respect to sensitive customer data are reduced and this significantly increases the trust of our patients and doctors,” said Raphael Lucchini, CTO, MindDoc.

Club Med is a world-renowned hospitality company that operates nearly 70 premium resorts worldwide and is working closely with S3NS as they use data to improve their business. “In an age where data proliferation and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are the norm, Club Med is dedicated to leveraging this data in real-time to elevate the experiences of both our customers and employees. We deeply understand the importance of personal information and are committed to its meticulous protection. Our partnership with S3NS, born from the collaboration between Thales and Google Cloud, positions us to manage data in a way that is not only agile and ethical but also fully compliant with GDPR standards,” said Quentin Briard, VP Digital/Marketing, ClubMed.

Oviva offers online care to individuals living with weight-related conditions. To meet Europe’s digital healthcare regulations, Oviva’s architecture was previously divided across various on-premise data centers. By using the T-Systems Sovereign Cloud, Oviva could unify its infrastructure in Google Cloud while complying with German regulations, improving overall efficiency, but also reliability, security, and their ability to innovate. “With the move to the Sovereign Cloud, the big advantage is that we now have our entire environment in the same setup. That means we’re much more productive as a team,” said Demian Jäger, DevOps Engineer, Oviva.

Additional controls for AI data

Xayn is a European startup building secure, sovereign, and sustainable AI systems that leverage the power of language models at scale. “Working on cutting-edge AI technology, we need a strong, secure, and reliable partner that can help us protect our clients’ sensitive data. That’s why we decided to use the Sovereign Cloud of Google and T-Systems for our enterprise AI solution,” said Dr. Leif-Nissen Lundbæk, CEO, Xayn.

Lengoo is a European language tech company that enables enterprises to build fine-tuned language models using their proprietary data. T-Systems Sovereign Cloud powered by Google Cloud helps reduce security concerns about the safety and protection of Lengoo’s customer data: “The T-Systems Sovereign Cloud powered by Google Cloud creates more data sovereignty and thus more trust for Lengoo’s customers in our language-based AI solutions,” said Alexander Gigga, CMO, Lengoo.

Accelerating your digital sovereignty journey

For these organizations, the business benefits of adopting sovereign cloud solutions is clear. But we know that designing a digital sovereignty strategy that balances control and innovation can be challenging, and we have multiple resources to help.

We recently announced a new strategic collaboration with Accenture to help customers address their digital sovereignty needs in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. With a deep understanding of local requirements, Accenture will help clients build, enable and manage sovereign solutions across the region. Accenture’s Cloud First European Lead, Valerio Romano, said: “Our collaboration with Google helps our clients cut through the clutter of the nascent sovereign cloud market and unlock new sources of value in the digital realm.”

Google Cloud’s Digital Sovereignty Explorer is an online, interactive tool that takes individuals through a guided series of questions about their organizations’ digital sovereignty requirements. It seeks to simplify terms and explain important concepts. Upon completing the Explorer, you will receive a personalized report summarizing your responses with additional reference material and recommendations on a range of potentially applicable sovereign cloud solutions.

We also invite you to view proceedings from the recent Financial Times conference Tackling The Complexities Of Digital Sovereignty In Europe, which took place on December 7. This event, produced in partnership with Google Cloud, gathered leading EU policymakers as well as business and public sector leaders responsible for data governance and security in discussing how to navigate the complexity of digital sovereignty while benefiting from technology and supporting economic growth. You can access the replay at digitalsovereigntyeu.live.ft.com.