Microsoft and SAP sign deal to keep EU cloud running, even in "times of crisis"

• Delos Cloud signs MoU to keep Microsoft cloud services up in times of crisis
• The company will also work with France’s Bleu during extreme scenarios
• SAP’s work prepares the cloud for potential future geopolitical disruptions

Microsoft and SAP-owned Delos Cloud and French sovereign cloud provider Bleu have formed a group to protect European cloud service continuity during times of crisis.

Focusing on digital sovereignty, resilience and business continuity amid today’s ongoing geopolitical tensions, the group addresses growing European concerns about dependence on US cloud providers.

Recent Gartner research found three-fifths (61%) of Western European CIOs plan to increase local cloud provider usage, with more than half (53%) acknowledging geopolitical influences.

Microsoft doubles down on European sovereignty

“Our collaboration with Bleu and Microsoft reinforces our commitment to resilient and scalable cloud services,” Delos Cloud CEO Nikolaus Hagl said at the Franco-German EU Summit on Digital Sovereignty.

A Memorandum of Understanding between Delos Cloud and Microsoft enables Delos to provide cloud services in the event that a non-European government restricts Microsoft’s services for specific European customers. In short, Delos Cloud has gained legal rights to access and use required Microsoft cloud software code during emergencies.

This MoU builds on Microsoft’s promise to contest foreign government orders targeting European cloud services.

“Europe’s competitiveness depends on its ability to innovate without compromise by combining technological excellence with full digital sovereignty,” SAP CEO Christian Klein added.

Germany’s Delos Cloud and France’s Bleu have also signed a mutual assistance agreement for cross-border crisis and emergency scenarios. The two companies promise to work together in “extreme scenarios,” such as military conflict or cyberattacks, to ensure continuity.

“Within this agreement, our technical and operational teams will be working together and developing concrete ways to assist each other and governmental authorities in crisis scenarios,” Bleu CEO Jean Coumaros added.

The news comes despite Microsoft suffering several setbacks in Europe recently, including a high-profile court battle with CISPE over cloud licensing costs.

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