Ah, the sweet scent of regionalism in the air! As the world turns its back on globalization, the next decade promises to be a delightful game of musical chairs, with each nation scrambling to find a comfortable spot in the ever-shrinking circle of international relations. And what better way to do so than by asserting one’s digital sovereignty?
The United States, once the proud ringmaster of this global circus, now finds itself retreating behind the curtain of protectionism. Its Big Tech companies, once the undisputed rulers of the cloud computing landscape, are now being squeezed out of regions where they once reigned supreme. And nowhere is this trend more evident than in Europe.
Hyperscalers scale down
The giants of the cloud computing world – Amazon (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Meta – have long dominated the European market, just as they have in most global regions. But suddenly, their vice-like grip is weakening.
The U.S. determination to go it alone, without the baggage of its global allies to subsidize, cuts both ways. Its partners have begun to question what they’ve been getting out of the deal, both politically and commercially. For years, Europe has voiced concerns over its reliance on the U.S. tech giants for cloud services, citing risks to data sovereignty and economic independence.
Now, the continent is acting decisively in a concerted pushback against U.S. hegemony. If they want to impose punitive trade tariffs and retreat across the Atlantic, let it, runs the reasoning. Europeans have already been given a harsh lesson in reliance on foreign resources with the Ukraine war, which has cut Russia from the supply line and sent EU energy prices soaring.
In a world of uncertainty, the only certainty is to rely on yourself, which means turning to the domestic market to ramp up production of everything from renewables to data centers.
Bringing it back home
The EU’s push for data center sovereignty has been heightened by rising recognition of the vulnerabilities tied to centralized cloud providers. Data stored with U.S.-based hyperscalers is subject to American laws, such as the CLOUD Act, which can compel companies to hand over data regardless of where it’s stored. The U.S. Big Tech, like AWS, is making a show of establishing Europe-based supposedly regionally sovereign operations, but few are convinced.
open, resilient, and immune to the whims of foreign powers. If Europe succeeds in this endeavor, it will be proof that it’s possible to enjoy global connectivity without the double-edged sword that is globalization.
Kai Wawrzinek is a co-founder of the Impossible Cloud & Impossible Cloud Network. He is a seasoned entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in Law and a proven track record of building successful ventures. Recognizing the need for enterprise-grade solutions in the web3 space, Kai founded Impossible Cloud Network (ICN), a decentralized cloud platform aimed at creating a decentralized alternative to AWS. Before ICN, Kai founded Goodgame Studios, an online game company, and grew the company to over 1,000 employees and generated more than €1 billion in revenue, taking it public on Nasdaq in 2018 through a reverse merger.
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2025-07-15 11:44