Is your cloud strategy ready for Europe's data sovereignty challenge?

Time to rethink your approach with cloud-native principles   

As global tensions rise and European data regulations become stricter, it’s essential to reassess our dependence on major public cloud providers. Data sovereignty, legal compliance and reducing reliance on U.S.-based tech giants are now top priorities for CIOs and executive teams across Europe. 

Many organisations include an “exit strategy” in their cloud plans: a way to switch providers or regain control if needed. But too often, this stays theoretical. In today’s landscape, it’s time to turn that strategy into action. 
   
One compelling way to stay flexible and in control is by building your cloud strategy around containers. Containers package applications in a way that makes them portable across different environments, reducing vendor lock-in and increasing agility. At the forefront of this approach is Kubernetes, a platform that manages these containers across any infrastructure. Enterprise solutions like Red Hat OpenShift build on Kubernetes to offer a stable, secure, and compliant foundation that meets today’s sovereignty and regulatory demands. 

What does Cloud native really mean?  

Being cloud-native isn’t just about choosing AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. It’s about how you build and run your applications – making sure they’re secure, scalable and resilient, no matter where they’re deployed. 
 
A true cloud-native approach includes: 

• Containers: offer a standardised way to package and deploy code and dependencies, enabling consistency across environments. 

• Kubernetes: automates container deployment, scaling and management.  

• Platform Thinking: streamline centralised capabilities such as CI/CD, observability and security  

• Developer Portals: empowering developers by reducing friction and enhancing consistency across teams 

Importantly, these key components don’t require a public cloud provider. Organisations can implement them in their own data centers, giving them more control over compliance and data governance.

Achieving cloud principles 

A well-designed platform, built on cloud-native principles, can deliver many of the same advantages typically associated with public cloud environments: 

• Automation: tools like Infrastructure-as-Code and GitOps enable fast, secure, and consistent deployments. 

• Self-Service: with proper capacity planning and infrastructure management, internal platforms can dynamically allocate resources to match demand. 

• Elasticity: internal platforms can dynamically allocate resources through effective capacity planning and internal infrastructure management. Resilience: Kubernetes offers self-healing  

• Resilience: Kubernetes provides a strong base for resilient operations, with features like self-healing, automated scaling and seamless updates. Tools like Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management (ACM) can help make multi-site resilience more manageable and scalable. and automated updates. Tools like Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management help extend this resilience across multiple locations. 

• Observability: built-in logging and monitoring offer clear insights into system performance. 

In short, by creating a well-architected platform, you can achieve cloud-level performance and agility—without losing control.

Balancing cost with strategic priorities 

Building a central platform capability does require investment and operational discipline—but that cost needs to be considered alongside broader strategic concerns:

• Compliance: European regulations like GDPR and the upcoming Data Act demand strict control over data handling and storage. 

• Data Sovereignty: U.S. laws such as the CLOUD Act allow American authorities to access data held by U.S.-based companies—even if that data is stored in Europe. 

• Business Continuity: In today’s shifting geopolitical climate, maintaining autonomy over your digital infrastructure is more important than ever. 
   

In this context, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is just one part of the equation. It must be weighed against regulatory risk, potential reputational damage, and the need for long-term resilience. 

Conclusion 

Becoming cloud-native doesn’t require committing to the public cloud. 

By leveraging technologies like Kubernetes and enterprise platforms such as Red Hat OpenShift, organisations can build internal platforms that deliver the same agility and scalability—while gaining more control, stronger compliance, and greater data sovereignty. 

The key is to stop viewing “cloud” as a place and start seeing it as a set of principles. 

Principles like automation, resilience and agility aren’t tied to a specific provider. With the right approach, they can be realised anywhere - even within your own infrastructure.