Nextcloud, a German productivity and collaboration software vendor, hopes to capitalize on the shift in mood. Working with Ionos, a German data center hosting company, Nextcloud plans to launch an open-source service that it bills as a digitally sovereign competitor to better-known US software-as-a-service (SaaS) products like Microsoft 365 (M365). Nextcloud, which launched in 2016, already develops and sells a suite of collaboration and productivity tools called Nextcloud Hub, which includes apps for document editing, email, and video meetings.
Given that corporate IT relies heavily on cloud-based infrastructure and services delivered via the public cloud, access to the data held in the cloud is paramount. Should all mission-critical data be held on-premise? What roles should digital sovereignty and digital residency play in a corporate IT strategy? These are among the questions being discussed at Forrester's forthcoming Technology & Innovation Summit in London.
"Critical data would become inaccessible, websites would go dark, and essential state services like hospital IT systems would be thrown into chaos," says Robin Berjon, a digital governance specialist who advises EU policymakers.
Spain's recent decision to award Huawei a contract worth €12.3 million to manage and store legally authorized wiretaps raises significant concerns about the country's commitment to digital sovereignty.
Under the new agreement, CISPE members can offer Microsoft software to customers on a pay-as-you-go basis through the CSP-Hoster program, enhancing privacy for European customers.