AWS Announces €7.8bn European Sovereign Cloud Investment

Amazon Web Services (AWS), tech giant Amazon’s cloud computing business, announces a €7.8bn (US$8.5bn) investment into AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

The first cloud region will be set up in Germany and is expected to go live by the end of 2025, with the AWS investment expected through until 2040. A Sovereign Cloud such as this is designed to enable greater data residency across the European region.

AWS’ investment reflects its long-term commitment to meeting Europe’s digital sovereignty requirements. The company is seeking to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, having recently partnered with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to help upskill 25,000 TCS employees in cloud and AI skills.

Leading the European cloud community

This long-term investment by AWS is expected to lead a ripple effect in the local cloud community. It is designed to accelerate productivity, empower business digital transformation and upskill the cloud and digital workforce. 

Likewise, the AWS investment hopes to power the development of renewable energy projects and create a positive impact in the communities where AWS operates as a result.

Technology Magazine has previously reported on how Amazon CEO Andy Jassy views new technologies such as generative AI (Gen AI) as transforming the cloud.

He said: “Gen AI may be the largest technology transformation since the cloud (which itself, is still in the early stages), and perhaps since the Internet. Unlike the mass modernisation of on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, where there’s work required to migrate, this Gen AI revolution will be built from the start on top of the cloud. The amount of societal and business benefits from the solutions that will be possible will astound us all.”

In total, AWS’s planned European investment is estimated to contribute €17.2bn (US$18.7bn) to Germany’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through 2040, in addition to supporting an average 2,800 full-time equivalent jobs in local German businesses each year. 

These job roles are spread across the local economy and include various sectors such as construction, facility maintenance, engineering telecommunications - which are all part of the AWS data centre supply chain.

The company will also create new highly-skilled permanent jobs to build and operate the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, including access to data centres, technical support and customer service.

“This investment reinforces our commitment to offer customers the most advanced set of sovereignty controls, privacy safeguards, and security features available in the cloud,” comments Max Peterson, Vice President of Sovereign Cloud at AWS. “We're investing heavily in new local talent and infrastructure, which will help provide the operational sovereignty our customers require.

Greater cloud infrastructure control

Over the last 25 years, AWS has driven economic development across Europe through its investment in infrastructure, jobs and skills. Since 2010, Amazon has also invested more than €150bn (US$163bn) in the EU, employing more than 150,000 people in permanent roles across the European Single Market. 

AWS stresses the importance of customers having control over their data and choices for how they secure and manage that data in the cloud. With this in mind, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be a new independent cloud for Europe to offer customers greater opportunities to meet their evolving sovereignty needs on AWS architecture.

Max adds: “This is an exciting milestone, and we're looking forward to the ways that our customers and partners across Europe will drive further innovation with the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.”

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