Introducing the EuroStack initiative: Might this flip the tide on hyperscale cloud in Europe?
If in case you have not heard of EuroStack, you would possibly first guess it’s merely an EU-centred walled backyard for IT. Nonetheless, the thought is extra about levelling the worldwide taking part in subject by constructing a way more open, collaborative stack.
Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO of cloud alternate platform Dynamo, an Italian cloud companies firm, says EuroStack’s all about teaming as much as create a European tech ecosystem various, together with cloud. The idea solutions a brand new wave of protectionist observe and sovereignty considerations which have more and more come to the fore worldwide.
“We have to do one thing. We perceive the significance of digital infrastructures, and cloud specifically, as a brand new strategic infrastructure for the financial system, societies, politics and democracy basically,” Bonfiglio tells Pc Weekly.
The hegemony of big tech companies, typically within the US, has continued to loom bigger. In cloud, that is signified by the rising dominance of hyperscalers – particularly Amazon Net Providers (AWS), Microsoft and Google. In fact, the ability of Silicon Valley stems partially from capital investments over many years that can’t at this time be simply replicated. Nonetheless, that’s to not say nothing could be finished.
What’s EuroStack?
A EuroStack pitch doc got here out in January 2025 which notes that 2024’s Draghi competitiveness report recognized {that a} failure to take “full benefit of the digital revolution” is a key explanation for Europe buying an “financial laggard” standing. An industry-driven initiative, EuroStack due to this fact seeks to develop an built-in digital ecosystem, with a complete worth chain encompassing software program, companies, {hardware} and options.
In accordance with the 100 or so organisations concerned thus far, the IT atmosphere has develop into “basically extractive, with knowledge and financial rents appropriated via unfair bargains between super-dominant suppliers and us, the dependents”. A rising physique of legal guidelines and rules representing “a number of makes an attempt” at competitors intervention have failed – and slowed home-grown corporations additional with compliance calls for.
“Additional, the ‘occupation’ of areas is massively accelerating as US hyperscalers are aggressively advertising AI instruments and companies as key to European development and prosperity,” it says.
The topline goal is to spice up safety, redundancy and resilience, alternatives, sovereignty and governance via direct {industry} motion, bottom-up somewhat than top-down. This must be supported by 5 coverage pillars:
- Recognise and outline a European digital industrial coverage (EDIP) throughout European fee features.
- Construct strategic digital infrastructures, first by aggregating “better of breed” current property and supporting them with integration platforms, then by growing {industry} collaboration.
- Help this aggregation with private and non-private investments, together with in expensive components of the worth chain.
- Choose aligned interventions and measure outcomes by way of enterprise outcomes that drive financial autonomy.
- Search cooperation with third-party states that share frequent targets.
A successor to Gaia-X
In a way, EuroStack seems a successor to a kind of stillborn Gaia-X. Bonfiglio says the Gaia-X idea had “the political message” however much less of a transparent motion plan. One key for EuroStack is guaranteeing organisations and shoppers belief digital companies and platforms. Technological high quality and innovation is offered in Europe, if not all the time adequately commercialised. Additionally, many stay nervous about knowledge dealing with, privateness and mental property (IP).
“We have to make that straightforward,” Bonfiglio says. “We want transparency, controllability and interoperability. And if you wish to lock me in, I gained’t allow you to in.”
Cloud federation has to transcend technical federation too as a result of no single operator will spend money on changing into interoperable with one other with out associated enterprise alternatives.
Concretely, cloud companies suppliers Aruba, Ionos and Dynamo have simply launched the Sovereign European Cloud API (SECA) as a best-in-class {industry} commonplace for cloud infrastructure administration. The subsequent requirement is for potential prospects to have the ability to discover the European options they want.
Bonfiglio says suppliers all around the world can and maybe ought to construct their very own model of EuroStack, even organisations from the US itself: “They don’t need to be hostage to those three non-public corporations both.”
Cloud infrastructure companies funding globally continues to be rising. Canalys reported 20% 12 months over 12 months to This autumn 2024 and comparable for 2025. Nonetheless, 64% of that whole spend is on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
Bonfiglio estimates that European suppliers have lower than a ten% share of the market – and that share is shrinking, with most European datacentre capability already both owned or rented by hyperscalers.
“In 2028, hyperscalers will possible management 75% of our datacentres. It’s an software of historic colonisation methods – solely now it’s not tea plantations however GW and sq. metres,” says Bonfiglio. “However we will begin to change this now, leveraging our current property.”
Change might be tough – what’s one of the best ways?
Nicky Stewart, senior adviser on the Open Cloud Coalition, retains doubts concerning technique. In any case, managing change throughout 27 member states stays “extremely advanced”. Regulation wants harmonisation, and even strengthening, and addressing competitors may very well be easier, she suggests.
“Definitely the hyperscalers have develop into omnipotent in expertise; there’s been quick development, monumental focus, and, in the event you like, anti-competitive enterprise practices,” Stewart says. “Consumers don’t all the time need the homogeneous, one-size-fits-all reply when it may be higher supplied with higher customer support – and infrequently keener pricing – by different cloud suppliers.”
Stevenage-based cloud companies supplier Civo can be a member of the Open Cloud Coalition. Chief business officer Simon Hansford provides that choices are wanted, with digital sovereignty entailing differential knowledge dealing with. Some knowledge is way extra vital and personal. The best way you deal with, retailer and share it ought to recognise that.
“Which doesn’t imply it doesn’t journey overseas, however that we put extra financial worth on it,” provides Hansford.
EuroStack as it’s envisaged would higher recognise the worth of knowledge and associated industries. In the event you do not need sovereignty over a given useful resource, you management the way you drive worth.
“A transparent instance is likely to be Airbus. Europe determined to construct its personal plane, somewhat than changing into a producing web site or upkeep web site for Boeing, which might have been very simple to do,” says Hansford.
As we speak, this seems to have been a great determination. With out recognition of worth, it may be very troublesome to develop an area ecosystem – from schooling, coaching and certification to OEM – that drives jobs and companies past oblique gross sales and companies.
“Nearly all of Europe’s cloud professionals are in gross sales, advertising, pre-sales engineering and the like. AWS and Microsoft would possibly say they’ve bought 1,000-2,000 folks within the UK, but when they’re all pre-sales, there’s no analysis or core engineering finished there,” Hansford factors out. “We have now bought to start out creating demand by shifting cash away from the hyperscalers into our native {industry}.”
Solange Viegas Dos Reis, chief authorized officer at French infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) supplier OVHCloud, factors out that Amazon, Microsoft and Google have energy that extends past cloud as nicely. “They’ve increasingly more energy, and use that to strengthen what they’ve in different markets too,” she says.
OVHCloud has signed up. With EuroStack, enterprise and {industry} have lastly understood the direct impression that politics, and certainly geopolitics, can have on economics, she says, including: “We have to do away with dependencies on different international locations the place the political strain can have a direct impact on us.”
Freedom of alternative and innovation is likely to be achieved by having a extra open supplier or by growing some smaller stacks with collaborative interoperability and transparency, with “good strategic companions” from exterior the EU additionally concerned.
She notes that when your knowledge is hosted on hyperscaler servers, there’s a threat that your exercise competes with a number of of theirs, as a result of they’re so giant and dominant. Or that it may be accessed by different governments for causes with which you wouldn’t agree. Information and digital sovereignty is about greater than competitors.
“EuroStack makes me hope that we could go quicker and be extra exact on the wants,” she says. “It’s fairly formidable, for positive, nevertheless it’s pushed by economics, enterprise and {industry}, and with sturdy leaders. It’s not simply a few legal professionals within the room attempting to make extra regulation.”
Tackling the problems with regulation, prime down, has not labored thus far. In fact, it’s a problem, not least as a result of it entails corporations from numerous sectors up and down tech stacks. And there’ll possible be resistance from some.
“We should coordinate everybody and determine the frequent challenges and components,” Viegas Does Reis says. “However the goal will profit all of the world, the entire tech ecosystem.”
Mark Neufurth, lead strategist and programme supervisor for SECA at cloud companies supplier Ionos, agrees that EuroStack fashions an initiative that might profit organisations worldwide, and that’s vital.
“Whereas there’s no [actual EuroStack progress] improvement as of now, Europe has to develop a ‘goal image’ within the mild of present politics, that are altering quick,” he says. “In any other case, we might be out of enterprise in a matter of years by way of digitisation and digital issues.”
That’s all whereas the hyperscalers are nonetheless coming to, for example, Berlin or wherever to reap the benefits of native innovation, Neufurth provides.
In the meantime, EuroStack has seven layers and takes a “big work package deal” to get it off the bottom. Software program, {hardware} and companies have to be outlined, resourced and constructed. Native issues, together with potential inertia, have to be overcome. That mentioned, there are already European designs for low-energy chips right here, and the cloud API commonplace SECA, so that ought to all assist, Neufurth says.
In fact, economies of scale have to be developed. Different organisations, in different international locations, can and will develop comparable initiatives, together with the UK – however partnering is vital. General, nevertheless, the imaginative and prescient will take years, even many years, to materialise, Neufurth provides.
“Nonetheless, we want this. It’s important that we emancipate ourselves a bit from China and the USA,” he says. “And there’ll be much less of a single level for failures, and naturally higher competitors.”
