AWS to pump billions into sovereign cloud for Germany
- Reference: 1715941569
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/05/17/aws_sovereign_cloud_germany/
- Source link:
The [1]move is the latest effort by US tech giants to retain revenue from the lucrative European market without running afoul of local regulations around sovereignty and privacy.
US lobbyists commission report dismissing proposed EU cloud regulations [2]READ MORE
The Register understands that Amazon intends to build its own datacenters for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, and all day-to-day operations and support will be managed by EU-based employees. While having local workers will make regulators happy, the specter of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) order might rattle a few nerves.
An AWS spokesperson told The Register : "In July 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision to finalize the new US-EU Data Privacy Framework, finding that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection, comparable to that of the European Union, including for laws such as FISA."
The €7.8 billion will come from investments in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Germany through 2040. AWS reckons the investment will add €17.2 billion to Germany's total GDP over that time.
[3]
"The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will provide customers the capability to meet stringent operational autonomy and data residency requirements within the European Union (EU), with infrastructure wholly located within the EU and operated independently from existing Regions," the cloud giant said.
[4]Amazon's latest 'flex' VMs promise savings for your burstiest apps
[5]AWS CEO logs off after three years at the helm
[6]AWS CISO tells The Reg: In the AI gold rush, folks are forgetting application security
[7]VMware waves goodbye to AWS middleman as Broadcom takes the reins
"The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will allow customers to keep all customer data and the metadata they create (such as the roles, permissions, resource labels, and configurations they use to run AWS) in the EU."
Microsoft and Google both have their takes on [8]cloud sovereignty , with approaches such as encryption and geographic location being used to try to satisfy the needs of public and private sector workloads and the associated regulations.
[9]
However, there are also plenty of alternative options in Europe for businesses not already tied into the US tech giants. [10]OVHCloud springs to mind, as does Scaleway. In 2021, France [11]unveiled the "trustworthy cloud" strategy, which would have French companies running software licensed from the US tech giants on French servers.
The AWS approach is to have its own datacenters in the EU, with enough autonomy and data safeguards to satisfy regulators. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.aboutamazon.eu/news/aws/aws-plans-to-invest-7-8-billion-into-the-aws-european-sovereign-cloud
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/06/proposed_eu_cloud_regulation/
[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=2Zkd-Kfwvrdy96bmmZqkdGwAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/16/aws_flex_instances/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/aws_ceo_steps_down/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/13/aws_ciso_ai_security/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/07/broadcom_vmware_aws/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/05/google_eu_sovereign/
[9] 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=44Zkd-Kfwvrdy96bmmZqkdGwAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/14/ovhcloud_raises_2022_forecast_as/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/17/france_eu_sovereignty/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
@Doctor Syntax
"Without a complete firebreak to put the entire operation out of Amazon's control having a EU location and employees is just a whitewash."
If the EU wishes to wall itself off further then yes. However the EU version of facebook and youtube would probably be the resulting state.
Re: @Doctor Syntax
Why are you talking about YouTube and Facebook consumer offerings when the story is about Amazon offering cloud services to businesses and governments?
Re: @Doctor Syntax
@Dan 55
"Why are you talking about YouTube and Facebook consumer offerings when the story is about Amazon offering cloud services to businesses and governments?"
Because I was responding to Doctor Syntax about effectively an EU only solution not Amazon. Dont worry your head about it.
Re: @Doctor Syntax
In other words, you didn't understand what article or the post you were replying to were about.
Re: @Doctor Syntax
@Dan 55
"In other words, you didn't understand what article or the post you were replying to were about."
Seriously dont hurt your head trying to understand. Its obviously against your capacity to do so either ideologically or intelligently.
Re: @Doctor Syntax
I'm game. Explain your reasoning; how you got from the article and the OP to your first reply. No rush, there's plenty of time show all your working out.
Re: @Doctor Syntax
@Dan 55
"I'm game. Explain your reasoning"
Sure. The EU is (for reasons that can be seen as justified) trying to exercise the American technology companies through privacy concerns. The 2 examples I gave being the EU version of youtube and facebook (or was it a version of twitter? I might have to check that) which of course fell with very few customers and not even a blip compared to what they were trying to clone (with added protections).
Doctor Syntax makes an interesting comment (which is believably correct, I dont dispute that) which suggests effectively not Amazon providing the service to be separate of the US beast. I pointed out that an EU clone of the existing successful US service would probably go the same way.
I really dont know how you didnt understand it the first time, I thought it was very clear.
GAIA-X is coming real soon now.
This is where [1]Microsoft were in Ireland before the CLOUD Act . The CLOUD Act was the result. Amazon know this. It's just smoke and mirrors.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2018/04/17/supreme_court_punts_email_seizure_decision_into_the_long_grass/
But if the EU agrees that the US is adequately safe then why does the data need to be in Europe?
Ah, GDRP
Nice to see that US multinational behemoths are bowing to the law of the land where they operate.
I mean, sure, Redmond and Fruitzilla kowtow to Beijing but, hey, if you don't, you're either banned or the CEO goes to jail. Not fun, eh Cook ?
There's no Congressional Hearing where El Zuck can pretend he gives a fuck and continue as before.
So, given that the EU is still a market that is comparable to the US, with a bit of leeway as far as lobbying is concerned, they will make an effort.
In this case, an effort of about $8 billion, to be able to continue to milk a market that is otherwise captive.
Yeah, I think I'd do the same . . .
Like all companies, Amazon’s primary interest is making money, So, hypothetically, if they were to set things up so that although it is ‘technically’ under their control, in practice, the operations and monitoring were entirely run by the local (German) providers?
Now, let’s suppose that somewhere down the line, Amazon gets served with a secret FISA order to turn over data stored in said facilities? Amazon claims that it isn’t technically possible to do so as they aren’t in direct control of it. But, says the court, you own the facilities so can change things so as to give you the required access! OK, yes, replies Amazon, but this can’t be done without the corporation, or at least the knowledge of the local staff - sorry but it’s the way we designed the setup as it was the only way that the EU would permit it!
Of course, the arrangements would need to be regularly checked and audited by a EU entity to ensure that changes aren’t being ‘sneaked in gradually’, but still!
A case, maybe, where the simple desire to make money takes precedence over being able to obey possible Court orders in the future! And I suspect Amazon has more and better paid lawyers than the US government.
Klaut
The latest U.S. nonsense, too complex to secure. See recentt Office365 hack.
Great sales scheme, though.
Without a complete firebreak to put the entire operation out of Amazon's control having a EU location and employees is just a whitewash.