52 Weeks of Cloud

Rise of the EU Cloud and Open Source Cloud

Episode Summary

The EU cloud landscape reflects growing momentum toward digital sovereignty, with American hyperscalers (AWS ~33%, Azure ~25%, GCP ~10%) still dominating but facing competition from European providers like OVHcloud (~5%), Scaleway and Hetzner. These EU-based alternatives offer full-stack European solutions with custom hardware, proprietary virtualization layers, and complete isolation from US networks - positioning themselves as sovereignty-focused alternatives amid US-EU geopolitical tensions. Open source cloud platforms present another avenue for technological independence, with OpenStack leading as the most mature enterprise-ready option, while Kubernetes enables workload portability across providers. Additional options include Apache CloudStack, OpenNebula, and emerging platforms like Rancher/K3s and OKD. This bifurcation between US and European cloud ecosystems is accelerated by growing concerns about data privacy, tech giants' influence on governance, and a European emphasis on rights-based innovation, though technical independence faces challenges around processor architecture dependencies and supply chain complexities.

Episode Notes

EU Cloud Sovereignty & Open Source Alternatives

Market Overview

• Current EU Cloud Market Share
  • AWS: ~33% market share (Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris regions)
  • Microsoft Azure: ~25% market share
  • Google Cloud Platform: ~10% market share
  • OVHcloud: ~5% market share (largest EU-headquartered provider)

EU Sovereign Cloud Providers

Full-Stack European Solutions

OVHcloud (France)

• 33 datacenters across 4 continents, 400K+ servers
• Vertical integration: custom server manufacturing in Roubaix
• Proprietary Linux-based virtualization layer
• Self-built European fiber backbone
• In-house distributed storage system (non-S3 compatible)

Scaleway (France)

• Growing integration with French AI companies (e.g., Mistral)
• Custom hypervisor and management plane
• ARM-based server architectures
• Datacenters in France, Poland, Netherlands
• Growing rapidly in SME/startup segment

Hetzner (Germany)

• Bare metal-focused infrastructure
• Proprietary virtualization layer
• 100% European datacenters (Germany, Finland)
• Custom DDoS protection systems designed in Germany
• Complete physical/logical isolation from US networks

Other European Providers

• Deutsche Telekom/T-Systems (Germany)
• Orange Business Services (France)
• SAP (Germany)

Leading Open Source Cloud Platforms

Tier 1

OpenStack

• Most mature, enterprise-ready open source cloud platform
• Comprehensive IaaS functionality with modular architecture
• Key components: Nova (compute), Swift (object storage), Neutron (networking)
• Strong adoption in telecommunications, research, government sectors

Kubernetes

• "Cloud in a box" container orchestration platform
• Not a complete cloud solution but foundational component
• Cross-cloud compatibility (GKE, EKS, AKS)
• Key features: exceptional scalability, self-healing, declarative configuration
• Facilitates workload portability between cloud providers

Tier 2

Apache CloudStack

• Enterprise-grade IaaS platform
• Single management server architecture
• Straightforward installation, less architectural flexibility
• Mature and stable for production

OpenNebula

• Lightweight virtualization management
• Lower resource requirements than OpenStack
• Strong integration with VMware and KVM environments

Emerging Platforms

Rancher/K3s

• Lightweight Kubernetes distribution
• Optimized for edge computing
• Simplified binary deployment model
• Growing edge computing ecosystem

OKD (OpenShift Kubernetes Distribution)

• Upstream project for Red Hat OpenShift
• Developer-focused capabilities on Kubernetes

Geopolitical & Strategic Context

• Growing US-EU tension creating market opportunity for European cloud sovereignty
• European emphasis on data privacy, rights-based innovation, and technological independence
• Potential bifurcation between US and European technology ecosystems
• Rising concern about Big Tech's influence on governance and sovereignty
• European cloud providers positioned as alternatives emphasizing human rights, privacy

Technical Independence Challenges

• Processor architecture dependencies (Intel/AMD dominance)
• European Processor Initiative and SiPearl developing EU alternatives
• Full software stack independence remains aspirational
• Network equipment supply chain complexities