Zurück zu den Wurzeln: Warum AWS plötzlich auf „Made in Europe“ setzt

What is the AWS European Sovereign Cloud?

In short, AWS is building a cloud that remains completely in Europe, both physically and operationally. It is aimed specifically at the public sector, healthcare, financial service providers and all industries that are subject to extremely strict regulations.

The key points of the announcement are promising:

• Sovereign by Design: An architecture built from the ground up for data sovereignty.
• Operational autonomy: Operations are carried out exclusively by employees based in the EU and own subsidiaries. There is no operational control from outside EU borders.
• Technical inspection: Through the AWS Nitro System It should be ensured that no one (not even AWS employees) can secretly access customer data.
• Expansion: In addition to Germany, expansions to the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal are planned.

Why is this step so important?

For a long time, the mantra in cloud computing was: “Everything in the global cloud, no matter where the server is located.” But reality — shaped by the GDPR, Schrems II and growing security concerns — has shown that this approach is often insufficient for sensitive European data.

With this move, AWS is responding to a clear market need: Legal certainty and trust.

It is a strong signal when the world's largest cloud provider builds an infrastructure that explicitly physically and operationally is separated from the rest of the global network to meet data residency requirements. It shows that “data sovereignty” is no longer a niche issue for German data protection officers, but a hard-hitting economic factor.

Looking outside the box: Why we use Hetzner

We at bchic.de are currently using for our infrastructure Hetzner. Why do we mention this in an article about Amazon? Because with this step, AWS is basically validating exactly the model that European hosts have been advertising as their major advantage for years: Data sovereignty in Europe, operated by companies under European law.

Of course, AWS and Hetzner play in different leagues when it comes to the service portfolio (PaaS/SaaS). But the core of the new AWS offering — independence and local control — is exactly what we value about local partners. We don't need a trip around the world for our data; we need local security, performance and legal compliance.

What other industries should learn from this

The launch of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud is more than just IT news. It is symptomatic of a trend that we should also observe in other industries.

For years, global networking has been prioritized over local resilience. We see this in production, supply chains and energy supply. Amazon's move shows: It makes economic sense to make critical infrastructures locally and independently controllable.

Companies across all sectors should ask themselves:

1. Dependency: Am I relying on global partners who, in the event of a crisis, have different priorities than my local requirements?
2. Control: Do I (or my local partner) have full operational control over my critical resources?
3. Resilience: Is my solution “sovereign by design” or has it only been provisionally adapted to local laws?

conclusion

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is a massive win for European authorities and corporations that have previously had to avoid cloud solutions due to compliance concerns.

For us, however, it is above all confirmation: The path to greater independence, local added value and strict data protection is not a hurdle, but a sign of quality. Whether you implement this with a US giant that is locating itself, or with a traditional European provider such as Hetzner, everyone must decide on their application. It is important that awareness of sovereignty has finally reached the mainstream.

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