{"id":2069305,"date":"2026-08-19T14:09:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/2026\/08\/19\/digital-sovereignty-europe-is-discovering-that-the-cloud-is-not-just-a-convenience\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T14:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:16:14","slug":"digital-sovereignty-europe-is-discovering-that-the-cloud-is-not-just-a-convenience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxsure.fr\/en\/2026\/08\/19\/digital-sovereignty-europe-is-discovering-that-the-cloud-is-not-just-a-convenience\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Sovereignty: Europe Is Discovering That the Cloud Is Not Just a Convenience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While more than 70% of Europe\u2019s cloud infrastructure still relies on U.S. providers, digital sovereignty has moved beyond the realm of specialists to become a top-level management issue. At VivaTech 2026, legal experts, industry leaders, and representatives of the European tech ecosystem reached a shared conclusion: technological dependence is no longer just an IT issue. It has become a strategic issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

For a long time, the cloud was presented as a given\u2014an invisible infrastructure, available on demand, whose value was measured primarily in terms of cost, performance, and ease of use.<\/p>\n\n

That view is now being challenged.<\/p>\n\n

At VivaTech, a panel discussion on European digital sovereignty highlighted a major shift: what companies once viewed as a simple technological choice is now perceived as a potential strategic dependency.<\/p>\n\n

The issue is no longer just about data hosting. It concerns the ability of an organization, a nation, or a continent to retain decision-making authority over the infrastructure that supports its digital economy.<\/p>\n\n

The End of the \u201cReturn to Normal\u201d Illusion<\/h2>\n\n

According to the speakers, the past eighteen months have marked a turning point.<\/p>\n\n

Technological restrictions, export controls, trade tensions, extraterritorial sanctions, and limitations on access to certain artificial intelligence technologies have profoundly altered perceptions of risk.<\/p>\n\n

For many European companies, the question is no longer whether these dependencies exist, but how to manage them.<\/p>\n\n

At SAP, discussions with customers reveal a new awareness: the assumption that technological globalization would guarantee open access to platforms and innovations in the long term is no longer taken for granted.<\/p>\n\n

This paradigm shift is transforming digital sovereignty into a matter of business continuity.<\/p>\n\n

Senior management is now questioning its ability to maintain operations if a supplier, regulation, or geopolitical decision were to abruptly alter the conditions for accessing critical technology.<\/p>\n\n

Three Dimensions of Sovereignty<\/h2>\n\n

One of the most interesting aspects of the debate was the attempt to define what the concept of digital sovereignty actually encompasses.<\/p>\n\n

For OVHcloud, it rests on three complementary pillars:<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  • data sovereignty;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • operational sovereignty;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • technological sovereignty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n

    The first concerns data control and access.<\/p>\n\n

    The second concerns the effective operation of infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n

    The third raises questions about mastery of the entire technology stack: software, platforms, components, and services.<\/p>\n\n

    This approach goes far beyond traditional debates about the location of data centers.<\/p>\n\n

    Data can be stored in Europe while still being subject to external technical, legal, or operational dependencies.<\/p>\n\n

    The real issue, then, becomes the ability to choose.<\/p>\n\n

    Sovereignty is not presented as isolation or digital protectionism, but as the ability to freely decide on the technological architectures best suited to an organization\u2019s risks and objectives.<\/p>\n\n

    Technology has become a power dynamic<\/h2>\n\n

    One of the most striking contributions to the panel came from representatives of European tech SMEs.<\/p>\n\n

    Their assessment was blunt: Europe has long treated technology as a commodity.<\/p>\n\n

    The prevailing view was to prioritize the most accessible solutions, those that could be deployed the fastest, or the least expensive ones.<\/p>\n\n

    This line of reasoning has helped reinforce dominant positions that have now become extremely difficult to challenge.<\/p>\n\n

    \u201cTechnology is not a neutral tool. Technology is power,\u201d summarized one of the participants.<\/p>\n\n

    This statement reflects a profound shift in European thinking.<\/p>\n\n

    The issue is no longer purely economic.<\/p>\n\n

    It has become industrial, geopolitical, and democratic.<\/p>\n\n

    Whoever controls the infrastructure also controls, in part, the rules of the game.<\/p>\n\n

    Can Europe follow the Chinese model?<\/h2>\n\n

    The comparison with China came up repeatedly during the discussions.<\/p>\n\n

    In just a few decades, the country has built a largely autonomous digital ecosystem capable of replacing major Western platforms in most strategic applications.<\/p>\n\n

    However, none of the speakers seemed to view this model as one worth replicating.<\/p>\n\n

    The European goal is not to exclude foreign players.<\/p>\n\n

    It is to restore freedom of choice.<\/p>\n\n

    This distinction is essential.<\/p>\n\n

    The European sovereignty envisioned at VivaTech relies more on the coexistence of several credible options than on the creation of a closed system.<\/p>\n\n

    In other words, the goal is not to replace one form of dependence with another.<\/p>\n\n

    It involves reintroducing genuine competition into segments that are currently largely dominated by a few global players.<\/p>\n\n

    The challenge isn\u2019t the cloud, but the ecosystem<\/h2>\n\n

    The debate also highlighted a common misconception: reducing digital sovereignty to the issue of the cloud alone.<\/p>\n\n

    U.S. hyperscalers do not merely provide infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n

    They offer an extremely broad range of services, tools, platforms, APIs, and development environments.<\/p>\n\n

    It is precisely this depth of the ecosystem that makes substitution complex.<\/p>\n\n

    Even European leaders cannot replicate this offering on their own.<\/p>\n\n

    According to the speakers, the European response will necessarily have to be a collective one.<\/p>\n\n

    It will be based on interoperability, the federation of services, and cooperation among large corporations, innovative SMEs, startups, and public institutions.<\/p>\n\n

    This approach differs fundamentally from the U.S. model, which is based on a few dominant platforms.<\/p>\n\n

    It relies more on the diversity of stakeholders and the resilience of a distributed network.<\/p>\n\n

    The Real Challenge: Creating Demand<\/h2>\n\n

    A consensus emerged regarding the role of public authorities.<\/p>\n\n

    Speakers believe that the market alone will not be enough to foster the emergence of competitive European alternatives.<\/p>\n\n

    Public procurement appears to be one of the main drivers.<\/p>\n\n

    According to figures cited during the discussion, a very significant portion of European governments\u2019 digital spending currently benefits non-European suppliers.<\/p>\n\n

    Gradually redirecting a portion of these investments could help create markets, finance local innovation, and accelerate the growth of sovereign ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n

    The issue is therefore not solely a technological one.<\/p>\n\n

    It is also a matter of industrial policy.<\/p>\n\n

    Sovereignty as a Catalyst for Transformation<\/h2>\n\n

    Perhaps the most interesting lesson from this discussion lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n

    Digital sovereignty is no longer viewed as a regulatory constraint.<\/p>\n\n

    It is becoming a driver of transformation.<\/p>\n\n

    The most forward-thinking companies are beginning to map their critical assets, prioritize their risks, and adapt their technology architectures accordingly.<\/p>\n\n

    Not all data requires the same level of protection.<\/p>\n\n

    Not all processes require the same level of control.<\/p>\n\n

    The goal is not to make the entire system sovereign.<\/p>\n\n

    It is about identifying what truly deserves to be sovereign.<\/p>\n\n

    In a world where artificial intelligence, the cloud, and digital infrastructure are becoming the foundations of the economy, sovereignty ultimately appears less as an ideological project than as a risk management exercise.<\/p>\n\n

    Europe may have been slow to realize this.<\/p>\n\n

    But judging by the discussions at VivaTech 2026, the topic has now taken center stage in the strategic thinking of both companies and governments.<\/p>\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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