Airbus to migrate critical apps to a sovereign Euro cloud
- Reference: 1766144952
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/12/19/airbus_sovereign_cloud/
- Source link:
Seven years later, Airbus is still trying to kick its Microsoft habit [1]READ MORE
The aerospace manufacturer, which has already consolidated its datacenter estate and uses services like Google Workspace, now wants to move key on-premises applications including ERP, manufacturing execution systems, CRM, and product lifecycle management (aircraft designs) to the cloud.
"I need a sovereign cloud because part of the information is extremely sensitive from a national and European perspective," Catherine Jestin, Airbus's executive vice president of digital, told The Register . "We want to ensure this information remains under European control."
The driver is access to new software. Vendors like [2]SAP are developing innovations exclusively in the cloud , pushing customers toward platforms like S/4HANA.
The request for proposals launches in early January, with a decision expected before summer. The contract – understood to be worth more than €50 million – will be long term (up to ten years), with price predictability over the period.
[3]
Digital sovereignty has become more critical since Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. His policies created [4]volatility in trade and geopolitical relations , prompting [5]European customers to reduce reliance on US providers .
[6]
[7]
While [8]Microsoft , [9]AWS , and [10]Google have created solutions to address these concerns, fears persist about the US CLOUD Act, which allows authorities to request data held by American corporations in overseas datacenters.
[11]Canadian data order risks blowing a hole in EU sovereignty
[12]NATO taps Google for air-gapped sovereign cloud
[13]Microsoft-SAP pact aims to keep Euro cloud running in a crisis
[14]Big Tech's control freak era is breaking itself apart
Microsoft admitted in French court last July it [15]couldn't guarantee data sovereignty under this legislation.
Jestin is waiting for European regulators to clarify whether Airbus would truly be "immune to extraterritorial laws" – and whether services could be interrupted.
Airbus exec: Most CIOs in Europe will not finish SAP ECC6 migration by 2030 [16]READ MORE
The concern isn't theoretical. Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan reportedly [17]lost access to his Microsoft email after Trump sanctioned him for criticizing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, though Microsoft denies suspending ICC services.
Beyond US complications, Jestin questions whether European cloud providers have sufficient scale. "If you asked me today if we'll find a solution, I'd say 80/20."
This puts pressure on European providers to collaborate, though whether they can navigate such complexities in Airbus's timeframe remains uncertain. ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/26/microsoft_airbus_migration/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/03/sap_ceo_push_for_cloudonly/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/paasiaas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aUWEqJUDMMRSFcaI87jcDQAAAVE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/30/microsoft_getting_nervous_about_europes/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/17/european_tech_sovereign_fund/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/paasiaas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aUWEqJUDMMRSFcaI87jcDQAAAVE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/paasiaas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aUWEqJUDMMRSFcaI87jcDQAAAVE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/microsoft_announces_strengthening_of_sovereignty/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/03/aws_european_sovereign_cloud/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/21/google_sovereign_cloud_updates/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/27/canada_court_ovh/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/nato_google_cloud/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_sap_cloud_crisis/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/10/three_most_important_factors_in/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/microsoft_admits_it_cannot_guarantee/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/11/airbus_exec_sap/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/31/international_criminal_court_ditches_office/
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
When put that way, it seems like this is more about tax planning and kickbacks than resilience.
"Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
........when any computer, anywhere at all, can be hacked by anyone at all? (See ElReg for endless detail!)
Confused old person here who needs an explanation!
Re: "Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
One word: Airgap
Re: "Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
@LogicGate
Yup......but "airgap" was no problem for the Stuxnet hack!
Re: "Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
Expected. Not disappointed.
Re: "Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
It means the data is stored in a centre somewhere in Europe and not in the hands of a potential adversary. It's not just that it could be stolen, but could be basically held to ransom. e.g. maybe Trump decides to be a dick to Airbus and threatens their data in some way as leverage in a "deal".
Personally if I were any company with concerns about foreign adversaries stealing their data I would want to bring as much of it in house as possible, or at least host it as securely as possible. For a BIG company like Airbus I don't know why they'd want to use the cloud anyway if they could avoid it.
Re: "Sovereign".....Exactly What Does That Mean?
You're perhaps a bit ahead of the herd here. Assuming, as seems likely, that the Internet remains wildly insecure and quite dangerous, I think that in about a decade (maybe two) most large companies will decide to pull their important data back in house. The internet will still be there of course. And the transport layers will still be used by everyone needing to communicate with remote destinations. But the upper levels -- the 'cloud' will be used mostly for entertainment, research, commerce, collaborative efforts and cat videos. Under those conditions, the cloud shouldn't be the collection of problems it seems to be today. It might even have a silver lining.
So much for market forces then.
Maybe offloading all the expensive bits to outfits who are doing exactly the same wasn't such a great idea in the long run.
Still some people got very rich while it lasted.
I hope they don't forget to pay someone to inspect and prove they receive what they think you ordered.
I recall talking to some very competent experts in a specialist area of business cost analysis, and they reckoned that a consistent failure of business when outsourcing was (other than believing the vendor's outright lies) not allowing for the costs of service quality assurance and vendor management. They reckoned 3-6% of total contract value should be budgeted for those, but rarely were.
He has systems on his own compuers. He wants to move to the cloud somebody else's computer but isn't sure he can find a cloud somebody else whose computer he can trust.
Do those slight adjustments suggest a clearer course of action he might consider?