Geopolitics drives CIOs into the arms of European cloud providers

Key Takeaways

61 % of Western European CIOs say geopolitics is pushing them toward local cloud providers [^1][^2].
IT spending in Europe is projected to rise 11 % to €1.4 trillion in 2026, with sovereignty becoming a top budget driver [^5].
By 2030, more than three‑quarters of non‑U.S. enterprises will adopt a digital‑sovereignty strategy [^1][^4].
32 % of CIOs are already increasing focus on regional vendors, and 75 % expect to “geopatriate” workloads by 2030 [^6][^9].
Critics argue that true sovereignty requires control of underlying infrastructure, not just a change of cloud host [^4].

Introduction

A new Gartner survey reveals that geopolitical tension is reshaping cloud strategies across Western Europe. More than half of CIOs and IT leaders plan to shift workloads to local or regional cloud providers, citing concerns over data control, regulatory exposure, and national security [^1][^2][^3]. The trend coincides with a broader push for digital sovereignty, a concept that by 2030 will be embedded in the strategies of over 75 % of companies outside the United States [^1][^4]. This article unpacks the survey results, explores the forces behind the shift, and examines the ramifications for IT budgets, vendors, and policymakers.

Survey Findings: Numbers That Matter

The Gartner poll of 241 Western European IT managers shows:

61 % intend to increase reliance on local cloud providers [^1].
53 % believe geopolitics will limit future use of global clouds [^2].
67 % say digital sovereignty is now a “primary” factor in cloud‑budget decisions [^5].

These figures echo reports from ITdaily and Computerworld, which both highlighted the same 61 % figure and added that total European IT spend will climb to €1.4 trillion in 2026 [^2][^3][^5].

Drivers Behind the Shift

Analysts point to three intertwined drivers:

Regulatory pressure. New EU data‑localization rules make it riskier to host mission‑critical workloads with U.S. providers.
Supply‑chain and resilience concerns. Recent high‑profile outages (e.g., AWS East‑US failure) have heightened awareness of single‑provider dependency [^6].
Customer and partner requirements. Public‑sector contracts increasingly demand “sovereign cloud” solutions [^7].

Rene Buest, a Gartner analyst, explained at a Barcelona symposium that many organizations cannot legally house core systems with non‑European clouds, prompting a strategic pivot [^2].

“Organizations are concerned about their digital sovereignty: the ability to maintain control over data, IT architecture and applications themselves, without being dependent on foreign parties.” [^2]

Implications for Budgets and Sovereignty

Europe’s IT spend is set to rise 11 % next year, with a notable portion earmarked for sovereign‑cloud initiatives [^5]. Companies are evaluating “geopatriation” – the process of moving workloads back to local providers – and increasingly viewing open‑source stacks as a way to reduce lock‑in, though 55 % cite added complexity [^2].

However, some critical voices warn that simply switching to a regional host does not eliminate foreign dependencies, because the underlying trust anchors, identity services, and hardware remain dominated by U.S. firms [^4]. While it is true that technology continues to come from various places, total elimination of dependencies must not be the goal. Any step is better than no step.

Regional Market Response

European cloud vendors such as OVHcloud, T‑Systems, Schwarz Digits, and local subsidiaries of major hyperscalers are expanding data‑center footprints to capture the shifting demand. Ainvest notes that 32 % of CIOs are actively seeking regional vendors, while 75 % anticipate “geopatriating” workloads by 2030 [^6][^9].

In the United Kingdom and France, government‑backed sovereign‑cloud offerings have already been launched, and similar initiatives are emerging in the Benelux and Nordics [^8].

Outlook to 2030

If current trends continue, the European cloud market could see a substantial rebalancing, with regional players capturing a larger share of enterprise workloads. At the same time, the push for genuine digital sovereignty may spur policy initiatives aimed at developing independent trust frameworks, identity ecosystems, and even domestic semiconductor supply chains.

Stakeholders—governments, cloud providers, and CIOs—will need to collaborate on standards that go beyond geographic data residency to address the full stack of digital infrastructure.

Conclusion

Geopolitical risk is now a decisive factor in cloud strategy for Western European CIOs, driving a measurable shift toward local providers and prompting a wave of sovereign‑cloud investments. While the move promises greater regulatory alignment and perceived resilience, experts caution that true digital independence will require deeper reforms than merely changing hosting locations. The next decade will likely see a convergence of market dynamics, policy action, and technological innovation aimed at redefining what “sovereign cloud” truly means.

References

This article was written with the help of AI.

Geopolitics drives CIOs into the arms of European cloud providers

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Survey Findings: Numbers That Matter

Drivers Behind the Shift

Implications for Budgets and Sovereignty

Regional Market Response

Outlook to 2030

Conclusion

References

Europe’s cloud challenge: Building an Airbus for the digital age

GrapheneOS quits OVHcloud over France’s chat control debate

Deutsche Telekom, SAP, Schwarz, IONOS, Siemens: Giant AI data centers in Europe from new consortium

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