Best of LinkedIn: Cloud Insights CW 17/ 18

00:00:00: This episode is provided by Thomas Olguyer and Frennis based on the most relevant LinkedIn posts about cloud in calendar weeks, seventeen and eighteen.

00:00:08: Frennis has built a sovereign Cloud Market Radar for ICT providers with weekly hot news monthly reports quarterly leadership presentations an AI podcast for field teams.

00:00:19: you can find more info in the description.

00:00:21: hey everyone welcome back to The Deep Dive.

00:00:23: yeah Welcome.

00:00:24: so today we are looking at the absolute top cloud trends we've seen across LinkedIn over the past couple of weeks.

00:00:30: And our mission today is really to unpack these specifically for you, the ICT and tech professionals who actually have to implement this stuff.

00:00:38: Exactly

00:00:38: because looking at the feeds there's a massive undeniable shift happening right now.

00:00:44: Over just the last two weeks digital sovereignty has completely shifted.

00:00:48: Yeah

00:00:48: it really had

00:00:49: It gone from like vague political talking point into hard measurable procurement requirement.

00:00:55: It is reshaping enterprise tech.

00:00:57: as we speak.

00:00:57: Completely,

00:00:58: and I think we should start with probably the most surprising real-world example of this sovereignty actually moving into procurement.

00:01:04: Oh!

00:01:04: The situation in the Netherlands Right.

00:01:06: So Kastav Shikrawar And Nick Goldemann were flagging across their networks.

00:01:11: Basically the Dutch data protection authority stepped in a massive warning.

00:01:15: They basically said Storing citizen data on US owned cloud servers is just an unacceptable exposure.

00:01:22: Yeah...and

00:01:22: the core argument there Is Jurisdictional Reach.

00:01:26: I mean, under US law intelligence agencies can compel providers to hand over data.

00:01:32: Even if the physical server is in Amsterdam?

00:01:34: Exactly!

00:01:34: even If the hardware's right there in The Netherlands.

00:01:37: So if a foreign government has a back door to your data you don't actually control it

00:01:42: Right.

00:01:42: so the Dutch Government had to pivot and they just signed a framework agreement giving fourteen hundred public institutions access To A European Cloud

00:01:50: Which Is Huge.

00:01:51: It is huge but here's where gets really interesting.

00:01:54: The provider they chose for this isn't some traditional telecom giant, it's Stackit.

00:01:59: Yeah,

00:01:59: Stackit.

00:01:59: and if you don't know who built Stackit its Schwartz digits which is the IT arm of the Schwartz group a company that owns little in Kauffsland.

00:02:06: just come supermarkets.

00:02:07: yeah literally a grocer.

00:02:09: so I mean i have to ask Is a supermarket chain really equipped To handle central bank data or?

00:02:15: This Just I Don't Know.

00:02:16: pure desperation to avoid US

00:02:18: tech.

00:02:18: well It sounds crazy right but Tim Brocks, Rob Hoymakers and Byrne Wagner shared some really deep insights on this.

00:02:25: It's actually a master class in infrastructure.

00:02:27: Wait!

00:02:27: Really?

00:02:28: How

00:02:28: so?!

00:02:28: Yeah

00:02:29: So StatKit was thoroughly audited by the privacy company.

00:02:33: They aren't just like purpose-built sovereignty champion to win government contracts.

00:02:38: they're a grocer that took their intense ruthless operational discipline because running thousands of retail stores is hard And quietly turned into infrastructure the government can trust.

00:02:50: Oh, wow.

00:02:51: So they just adapted their own massive internal needs for the public sector?

00:02:54: Exactly and you know this isn't just a Dutch phenomenon.

00:02:57: Mayor Boulogne noted that France just ordered two point five million civil servants to get completely off windows teams in all US cloud by autumn.

00:03:05: twenty-twenty six

00:03:06: Two point five Million users That's I mean that is a massive starting gun for European saws and cloud providers.

00:03:12: right like OVH Cloud Hetzner scale way

00:03:14: absolutely it's gold rush.

00:03:15: but Okay.

00:03:16: If individual nations like France and the Netherlands are doing this, what is the EU doing as a whole?

00:03:22: Because they actually just awarded a massive contract.

00:03:25: but it's highly controversial!

00:03:26: Yeah...the € hundred-and-eighty million tender Right.

00:03:29: The European Commission awarded a € hundred and eighty million sovereign cloud contract to four European providers.

00:03:37: It includes OVH Cloud, Stackit, Scaleway and post-telecom.

00:03:41: Which sets a new baseline?

00:03:43: Yes, exactly!

00:03:44: Deruda Billiesca & Philip Moser see this as huge win They point out.

00:03:48: it establishes the new SEAL II minimum standard.

00:03:51: It literally turns sovereignty into concrete procurement checklist

00:03:55: And that's great in theory.

00:03:56: But we have to look at the critique here Because Ralph Thomas brought up really sobering points.

00:04:01: What did he say?

00:04:01: Think

00:04:02: about that number.

00:04:02: A hundred eighty million euros spread across four state-linked consortia with overlapping services, yeah?

00:04:08: That is not going to dislodge the US hyperscale?

00:04:10: Well definitely not.

00:04:11: AWS spends that much on R&D before breakfast

00:04:14: Exactly.

00:04:15: but there's a bigger issue here.

00:04:16: well Yeah And I want to push back on this whole tender anyway because There's a shocking detail Here.

00:04:21: one of the winning consortia Is S three NS.

00:04:23: right

00:04:24: at The joint venture.

00:04:25: Right and s three ns uses Google cloud infrastructure.

00:04:29: so wait How can a sovereign EU cloud be running on Google tech?

00:04:34: that makes zero sense?

00:04:36: Well, this is exactly what Peter Russ calls air gap sovereignty theater.

00:04:39: Air Gap Sovereignty Theater.

00:04:41: I love that term right

00:04:42: because the idea Is sure.

00:04:44: The data center is physically isolated.

00:04:46: it's air gapped but the underlying stack the hypervisor the AI run times security updates all-American IP.

00:04:54: Right, which means it's governed by U.S.

00:04:56: export laws?

00:04:57: Exactly!

00:04:58: Russ emphasizes that whoever delivers the software updates controls the system

00:05:02: period because if you don't update at this system just rots and becomes a massive security risk.

00:05:07: exactly so your dependency isn't gone is just hidden behind an air gap.

00:05:11: man that whole theater debate really forces us to look at what true sovereignty actually is right like.

00:05:16: What are we genuinely hiding from?

00:05:18: mostly were hiding.

00:05:22: Dr.

00:05:23: Krudyslav Ryss and Luka Machanovic have been pointing this out, Ryss said that US political pressure did more for European digital sovereignty in eighteen months than fifteen years of regulation ever did.

00:05:34: Yeah the cloud act is aggressive.

00:05:36: it compels us companies to hand over data regardless a physical server location

00:05:40: which is a direct clash with the EU Data Act.

00:05:44: And Mitanovic points out that there's the threat of seven point one billion euros in cumulative GDPR fines looming over this,

00:05:51: it's a total legal minefield for any ICT professional trying to buy cloud services.

00:05:56: So frameworks are trying to measure what true sovereignty actually looks like under this pressure.

00:06:00: Okay,

00:06:00: how do they measure that?

00:06:01: Well and Leslie notes that the BSI's new C-III a framework in Germany.

00:06:05: It isn't just about slapping an EU made label on something.

00:06:08: it asks is really hard question when systems Are legally or operationally stressed who actually retains authority and control?

00:06:16: Oh

00:06:16: I like that.

00:06:17: so not about where the box Is it's about who holds the overwrite switch

00:06:20: exactly.

00:06:21: And you pair that with dr.

00:06:22: Monica McIterian analysis of the ES three standard.

00:06:26: That standard demands auditable supply chains.

00:06:29: Where were the servers designed?

00:06:30: where they assembled, who tested them?

00:06:33: Really uncomfortable questions for a lot of vendors.

00:06:35: Oh, very

00:06:36: But let me play devil's advocate here for a second because you're in.

00:06:40: peterite brought up this concept Of sovereignty washing.

00:06:43: I know that Because it's not just the Americans playing games Here.

00:06:47: European providers are marketing their EU ownership as proof of Sovereignty.

00:06:51: right but they often failed to provide The actual technical controls or independent audits To back It Up.

00:06:58: Yeah, it's just marketing.

00:06:59: Exactly!

00:07:00: It's like putting a European flag on the house but leaving the back door wide open.

00:07:04: Right

00:07:04: which brings us to how big players are actually reacting because the hyperscalers aren't sitting back.

00:07:10: They have highly distinct strategies here.

00:07:13: I'd love to hear how they're adapting.

00:07:14: So David Bevic broke down this spectrum beautifully.

00:07:18: AWS is going for full physical isolation with their European sovereign cloud.

00:07:23: Okay building entirely separate boxes.

00:07:26: Microsoft, on the other hand is using software-defined policy overlays.

00:07:30: And then Google was taking a partnership driven approach teaming up with T systems and

00:07:34: Thales.".

00:07:35: And we're seeing adoption.

00:07:36: I mean Michael Sabala and Leonardo Carmo noted that major players like Open Text and Sumo Logic are already jumping into The AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

00:07:45: They're hedging their bets.

00:07:46: Yeah

00:07:46: but ONS argues an EU sovereign cloud built by AWS Is basically an oxymoron because First of all, the EU itself isn't a sovereign nation state.

00:07:57: Right it's a block

00:07:58: exactly.

00:07:59: so he sees this AWS move as more an anti-cloud act marketing exercise rather than true sovereignty.

00:08:06: and you know if we connect us to The Bigger Picture for you listening.

00:08:09: Dario Maisto has great framework For This.

00:08:12: As An ICT Professional You Have To Define Your Minimum Viable Sovereignty.

00:08:18: Are

00:08:18: you looking for total ideological purity, or are you just trying to reduce your legal risk while keeping access to global capabilities?

00:08:25: Because you can't always have both.

00:08:27: And the ultimate stress test for this infrastructure isn't just storing static Excel files.

00:08:32: it's whether it can handle a massive compute required for AI.

00:08:36: AI is the real test!

00:08:37: It IS and Lars Neumann shared a massive success story about this.

00:08:42: Telecom built a ten thousand GPU industrial AI cloud in Munich in just six months.

00:08:49: Six months is blazing fast for that scale?

00:08:52: It

00:08:52: is, now they're using American NVIDIA chips obviously but the data remains physically in Germany.

00:08:58: so it proves Europe can move fast when it needs to.

00:09:01: But proofs

00:09:02: they can rack their hardware sure!

00:09:03: But Matt Rauschow points out a huge blind spot here.

00:09:06: yeah he says European clouds have these great compliance pitches but they completely fail on the developer experience.

00:09:12: oh

00:09:12: really how's

00:09:14: this?

00:09:14: one simple question What does a developer do on your platform?

00:09:18: On a Tuesday morning, oh Silence they

00:09:21: had no answer.

00:09:22: and the reality is The cloud that wins.

00:09:24: The developer workflow wins the market.

00:09:26: Oh

00:09:26: wow yeah if developers hate using it They'll just expense an AWS instance on their credit card And bypass IT entirely.

00:09:32: but wait US providers might be getting distracted too.

00:09:36: David Lenthicum warns that cloud providers are pouring all their resources right now into a gentek AI.

00:09:41: Oh, like the AWS Bedrock Agent Core for Phenops?

00:09:45: Yeah.

00:09:45: That Nicholas Fondrini was talking about.

00:09:47: Yes

00:09:47: exactly!

00:09:48: Like it's amazing tech.

00:09:50: but Lenthicom points out building is starving core platform improvements that ninety-nine percent of enterprises actually rely on today.

00:09:58: So the hyperscalars are distracted by AI and European providers don't have usable developer workspace

00:10:05: Which kind of leaves us looking for a third option.

00:10:07: and A lot people think that Third Option is open source.

00:10:10: Oh, right?

00:10:11: Yeah People like Lydia Leong see Open Source as the ultimate kill switch defense For sovereignty.

00:10:16: Well

00:10:17: Rene Boost did some research That reveals a real paradox there.

00:10:20: Oh

00:10:21: really what kinda paradox.

00:10:22: Basically

00:10:22: relying on Open Source Just replaces vendor lock-in With hidden dependency On global communities.

00:10:29: You know Communities in infrastructure That sit completely outside your jurisdiction.

00:10:33: Ah, so you're just swapping one dependency for a different harder-to-audit dependency?

00:10:39: Exactly.

00:10:40: Which leaves YOU the listener with a real question to think about... Are You Truly Sovereign or have you changed who you are dependent

00:10:48: on?

00:10:48: If you enjoyed this episode new episodes drop every two weeks.

00:10:52: Also check out our other editions of ICT and Tech digital products and services, artificial intelligence sustainability in green ICT defense tech.

00:11:01: And health.

00:11:01: yeah thanks for tuning in everyone.

00:11:03: keep these trade-offs in mind this week and we'll see you on the next deep dive.

00:11:06: Thanks For Listening.