Amazon plans 8 billion investment in sovereign AWS Euro Cloud

Amazon has been planning a sovereign Euro cloud, called the "AWS European Sovereign Cloud", for some time now. It is to be located independently of the rest of the company in Europe and will only be managed by local staff. Amazon Web Services have now presented their more concrete plans.

AWS has now announced that it will invest around 7.8 billion euros in the German region of the sovereign Euro Cloud by 2040. This is to be located in Brandenburg. The company emphasizes that this is a long-term endeavor.

AWS: Sovereign Euro Cloud in Brandenburg

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be launched as a pilot region in Brandenburg. Amazon plans to give the go-ahead at the end of 2025. The plans sound grandiose: Amazon expects a multiplier effect for cloud computing in Europe. This will drive forward the digital transformation of administration and companies. The AWS partner network will be strengthened, the number of digital and cloud specialists will be increased, renewable energy projects will be driven forward, and a positive impact will be achieved in communities where AWS is present.

Amazon's initial investment sum should also increase as a result of these effects. It is expected to contribute up to 17.2 billion euros to the gross domestic product by 2040. It will also create 2,800 full-time jobs at regional companies – in the areas of "construction, maintenance, engineering, telecommunications and the broader regional economy are part of the supply chain for AWS data centers", according to Amazon. In addition, "AWS will create new positions for highly skilled permanent professionals such as software developers, systems engineers and solution architects to build and operate the AWS European Sovereign Cloud".

With this commitment, Amazon emphasizes "to provide AWS customers with the most advanced controls for sovereignty requirements, data protection measures and security features available in the cloud. We are investing significantly in new talent and onsite infrastructure. This will help ensure the operational sovereignty our customers need," the company quotes Max Peterson, Vice President of Sovereign Cloud at AWS.

With the Sovereign Euro Cloud, Amazon wants to attract authorities and regulated companies as customers. Many of them are unable to use previous AWS offerings due to regulatory requirements. For example, operators of critical infrastructures (KRITIS) were legally denied access. According to Amazon, all data and metadata will remain in Europe. Operation and support are provided exclusively by personnel based here. The sovereign Euro Cloud remains physically and logically completely separate from other AWS regions, but should still offer the same level of security, performance and availability. For users, the operation will not differ from previous offerings.

(dmk)