What is a Sovereign Cloud?
A Sovereign Cloud or European Cloud refers to cloud services designed to offer a high degree of control and autonomy to organizations so they can decide who can access their data, how it can be used, and where it is stored. Transparency is a key aspect of national clouds, as vendors provide information about their subcontractors and metadata collection practices.
This level of transparency allows customers to make informed decisions regarding their data management.
Sovereign clouds also adhere to the specific regulatory and legal requirements of a particular country or region. This ensures that all data stored within the cloud remains within the country’s or region’s borders and is subject to its laws and regulations. By complying with local regulations, sovereign clouds provide high levels of data security and privacy, protecting sensitive information from foreign jurisdictions and unauthorized access.
One of the primary benefits of sovereign clouds is their ability to meet stringent data protection standards. For example, in Europe, sovereign clouds can help organizations comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which mandates strict guidelines for the handling and protection of personal data.
Why is Sovereign Cloud Important?
- Data Security and Privacy: Sovereign clouds play a crucial role in enhancing data security and privacy by ensuring that data is stored and processed within the country’s or region’s borders. This reduces the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance with production orders from foreign jurisdictions. By maintaining data within local boundaries, organizations can implement robust security measures tailored to regional threats and regulatory requirements.
- Compliance with Local Regulations: Sovereign clouds facilitate compliance with local data protection laws and regulations, such as the GDPR in Europe. By aligning with these stringent legal frameworks, businesses can avoid substantial fines and legal repercussions. Sovereign clouds ensure that data handling practices meet local standards, providing peace of mind to both organizations and their customers.
- National and Regional Security: Protecting national and regional security interests is a paramount concern. By keeping data within the country or region, sovereign clouds help safeguard sensitive information from potential foreign access or exploitation. This is particularly critical for sectors dealing with defense, national security, healthcare, and finance, where data confidentiality and integrity are vital.
- Control Over Critical National Infrastructure: Sovereign clouds ensure that control over critical national infrastructure, including both IT and Operational Technology (OT), remains within the country. This control is essential for maintaining the integrity and security of vital systems and services that underpin national security and economic stability. By hosting critical infrastructure within sovereign clouds, nations can mitigate risks associated with foreign dependencies and ensure the resilience of their essential services.
European Legislation and Considerations
European legislation, particularly the GDPR, has stringent requirements regarding the handling and protection of personal data. The GDPR mandates that personal data must be processed lawfully, transparently, and for a specific purpose. It also emphasizes individuals’ rights concerning their personal data, including the right to access, rectify, and erase their data. For businesses operating in Europe, compliance with the GDPR and other local data protection laws is non-negotiable. Sovereign clouds offer a solution by ensuring that data is stored and processed within the region, making it easier for businesses to meet these regulatory requirements.
Additionally, sovereign clouds can provide enhanced control over data access and usage, aligning with European data protection principles. The robust data protection and compliance guarantees offered by sovereign cloud solutions drive European organizations to adopt them. Moreover, the European Union (EU) aims to reduce reliance on foreign cloud providers to strengthen its economy, maintain technological leadership, and ensure strategic autonomy. National regulations in various member states also mandate the use of sovereign cloud solutions for specific sectors, such as public services and critical infrastructure.
The upcoming EU Data Act, set to take effect in September 2025, aims to facilitate customer switching between providers, enhancing data portability and interoperability. This new regulation is expected to support customers in migrating their data more efficiently, though practical challenges may persist.
Areas of concern regarding Sovereign Clouds
Many organizations considering sovereign clouds have reservations about potentially missing out on the numerous advantages that modern cloud services offer. These advantages include self-service capabilities, pay-as-you-go billing, resource flexibility, and the abstraction of infrastructure through modern Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. These features have become integral to the efficiency and scalability of contemporary IT operations.
A common concern is the misconception that sovereign clouds might rely on dedicated hardware and systems, lacking the multi-tenancy and self-service software that characterize public cloud environments. This perception can make sovereign clouds seem more akin to traditional IT outsourcing models, which are often seen as less dynamic and flexible compared to modern cloud services.
However, it is essential to recognize that sovereign clouds can, and often do, incorporate many of the advanced features found in public cloud offerings. Providers of sovereign cloud services are increasingly adopting technologies that support multi-tenancy, automation, and self-service capabilities. This ensures that customers can benefit from the flexibility and scalability of cloud computing while maintaining the sovereignty and control required to meet regulatory and compliance needs.
Hybrid models and interoperability
Moreover, the development of hybrid and multi-cloud strategies allows organizations to leverage the strengths of both sovereign and public clouds. By strategically dividing workloads based on sensitivity and compliance requirements, organizations can enjoy the best of both worlds. Sensitive data and critical applications can be hosted in sovereign clouds to ensure compliance and security, while less sensitive workloads can take advantage of the scalability and innovation available in public clouds.
Another critical aspect to consider is the evolving landscape of cloud interoperability and portability. Efforts to improve interoperability between different cloud services can help mitigate concerns about vendor lock-in and facilitate seamless integration across multiple cloud environments. Upcoming regulations, such as the EU Data Act, aim to enhance data portability, making it easier for customers to switch providers and optimize their cloud strategies.
Intility Sovereign Cloud – harmonizing advanced cloud functionality with security and sovereignty
Intilitys Cloud Service, InCloud, is designed to meet the highest standards of stability, functionality, security and performance, with a specific focus on sovereignty and critical infrastructure protection.
InCloud supports IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS workloads, fully managed across infrastructure, virtualization, operating system, and application layers. These workloads are monitored 24/7 and protected by an enterprise-grade security platform, delivered as a service.
Advanced Security Features
The security platform includes a variety of advanced features to protect against evolving threats:
- Next-Generation Firewall: Offers comprehensive security by inspecting traffic and blocking threats.
- Real-time Log Monitoring: Continuously tracks and analyzes logs for any suspicious activity.
- ARGUS Managed Defence: Provides proactive threat detection and response.
- Immutable Backup to Dark Site: Ensures data integrity and availability by creating unchangeable backups in a secure location.
24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC)
Intility’s Security Operations Center (SOC) actively monitors and responds to security threats and incidents around the clock. This ensures rapid detection and response to potential risks.
Data Sovereignty
Data sovereignty is a cornerstone of Intility’s cloud service. All data is stored and processed within Norwegian and Swedish borders and under these jurisdictions. As a result, organizations can achieve full compliance with local data protection laws and regulations.
This geographical confinement of data mitigates risks associated with foreign jurisdictions and enhances control over data access and usage. Additionally, all services are operated and supported by personnel in both Norway and Sweden. This further ensures the integrity and security of the data. If necessary, data and services can be locked to a specific country, providing an additional layer of control and security.
High Availability and Disaster Recovery
InCloud is designed for high availability and disaster recovery, ensuring that critical systems remain operational even under adverse conditions. The platform includes:
- Automated provisioning of infrastructure and configurations as code: Reduces manual intervention and enhances consistency and reliability.
- Geo-redundant infrastructure: Ensures that data and applications can be quickly restored in the event of data center failures.
- High Availability (HA) configurations: Compute clusters, storage systems, and network setups are designed with redundancy to handle component failures without service disruption.
Intility’s infrastructure supports critical applications and systems, offering robust mechanisms for business continuity and data protection. The platform is capable of handling the most demanding workloads with minimal downtime. This makes it ideal for sectors such as finance, healthcare, energy, and government operations.
Additional Security Services
To further secure critical systems and data, Intility offers additional security hardening services, including:
A range of technologies, including Managed Darktrace, Network Decryption, Data Stream Processors and integrations with secure identities
- SOC Level 2
- Continuous Vulnerability Management
- Shielded VMs, Confidential Computing and Host Guardian Service
- Micro-segmentation
- Locked Physical Racks
- Storing Cryptographic Keys in Hardware Security Modules
