This tool can tell whether a cloud provider is truly sovereign

The Sovereign Cloud Compass evaluates 17 cloud service providers and determines their sovereignty level across different use cases.

The tool was created by Germany-based IT service investor Jörn Petereit, who was frustrated by the debate around sovereign clouds, which focused on “sovereignty washing” claims while offering few concrete requirements or verifiable facts.

Initially, he compared providers in a spreadsheet just for himself, only to realize there was no simple “overall winner” because, Petereit says, it always depends on the use case.

That’s why he developed the Sovereign Cloud Compass, which evaluates 17 providers across 31 criteria in three categories. The database also contains a catalog of 33 cloud services.

Users can find their best cloud provider based on their use case, whether for government, critical infrastructure, or financial services, among others.

The “lens” filter includes multiple focus areas, such as maximizing European Union (EU) ownership, focusing on admin control and isolation, or prioritizing technical controls like encryption.

In addition, users are asked to choose one of the eight dealbreaker categories to eliminate certain providers.

Eventually, the tool assigns scores to different cloud providers based on the user’s criteria.

The database includes both EU-native cloud providers, such as IONOS Cloud and OVH Public Cloud, and US companies offering local solutions, including AWS European Sovereign Cloud and Microsoft Sovereign Cloud.

In search of a sovereign European cloud

Cloud sovereignty has become a hot topic in Europe, as countries aim to reduce their digital dependence on the US amid worsening relations with the Donald Trump administration.

As of now, three American giants – Google, AWS, and Microsoft – control about 70% of the European cloud market.

Dependence raises questions about Europeans’ sensitive data flowing outside the EU. US laws, such as the 2018 Cloud Act, compel American companies to provide data to US law enforcement upon request.

Moreover, there are concerns about a potential “kill switch” scenario in which the US government would order American companies to shut down or disable devices and services for European users.

American providers like Microsoft and AWS aimed to address Europeans’ concerns by introducing local solutions operating in EU countries and run by EU-resident employees.

However, critics accuse them of “sovereignty washing,” stating that the companies must still comply with the US laws.

​In an effort to increase its digital resilience, the European Commission recently awarded a €180 million ($210 million) tender to four local cloud providers. One of the winners leverages Google Cloud technology, indicating that there may be no clear-cut definition of a sovereign cloud.

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