Airbus is looking for a sovereign EU cloud
Airbus sees a large demand for cloud services: however, the aircraft manufacturer absolutely wants to rely on a European solution.
(Image: Airbus)
Airbus is planning a major order to store particularly sensitive or business-critical data in a sovereign European cloud. This involves important local applications in the areas of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), manufacturing control systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Product Lifecycle Management, which are now to be moved to the cloud.
The group's data centers are already in its own hands. The fact that Airbus is now focusing on cloud solutions is likely due to current software that can increasingly only be used with cloud services, such as SAP's S/4HANA.
Data to remain under European control
Catherine Jestin, Executive Vice President of Digital at Airbus, told the British IT magazine The Register: "I need a sovereign cloud because some of the information is extremely sensitive from a national and European perspective." The company wants to ensure that such information remains under European control, she explained. In addition to its commercial aircraft, Airbus also has a strong defense division with products such as the A400M transport aircraft or the Tiger attack helicopter.
A corresponding tender for over 50 million euros is expected to start in early January. It will be a contract for up to ten years, and the costs should be predictable in the long term.
Providers also want to create sovereignty
And on the provider side, there are also efforts to create digitally sovereign solutions. For example, the EuroStack Initiative Foundation, which aims to advance Europe's digital sovereignty through coordinated industry actions. Among the founding members are Frank Karlitschek from Nextcloud, Andy Yen from Proton, Achim Weiss from IONOS, and representatives from Ecosia and other companies.
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This is a reaction to Europe's growing dependence on non-European technology providers. What this can mean is known, for example, at the European Court of Justice. Microsoft blocked the email account of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, in May. US President Donald Trump had sanctioned the Hague court in February after a panel of ICC judges had issued arrest warrants in November against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with regard to alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
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