Europe’s biggest aerospace company Airbus is preparing a tender to move mission-critical applications, including ERP, manufacturing execution systems, CRM, and product lifecycle management (aircraft design), to a digitally sovereign European cloud.
The Europe’s biggest aerospace company estimates the probability of finding a suitable provider at 80/20 percent.
Catherine Jestin, executive vice president of digital at Airbus, told Reuters that a sovereign cloud is necessary because part of the information is “extremely sensitive from a national and European perspective.” He added, “We want to ensure this information remains under European control.”
The reason for the migration is access to new software. Vendors like SAP develop innovations exclusively in the cloud, forcing customers to switch to platforms like S/4HANA.
The tender process will begin in early January, with a decision before summer. The contract, expected to be worth over €50 million, will run for a maximum of ten years and offers price predictability for that period.
Digital Sovereignty under Pressure
Digital sovereignty has become more critical since Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency in January. His policies have caused volatility in trade and geopolitical relations, leading European customers to reduce their reliance on American providers.
Despite solutions from Microsoft, AWS, and Google, concerns remain about the US CLOUD Act. This act allows US authorities to request data from US companies, even if data is stored in overseas data centers. Microsoft admitted in a French court last July that it couldn’t guarantee absolute data sovereignty under this legislation.
Jestin is awaiting clarification from European regulators on whether Airbus would truly be “immune to extraterritorial laws” and whether services could be interrupted.
Her concerns are not theoretical. Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan reportedly lost access to his Microsoft email after Trump imposed sanctions against him for criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Microsoft, however, denies suspending ICC services.
European Scalability Uncertain
Besides the US complications, Jestin doubts whether European cloud providers have sufficient scale. “If you ask me today whether we’ll find a solution, I’d say 80/20,” says Jestin. European providers are therefore under pressure to cooperate, although it’s uncertain whether they can meet the demand within Airbus’s timeframe. A final decision is expected before the summer.
