Leaseweb’s European Cloud Campus Takes Off
This year, the Leaseweb HQ in Amsterdam, Netherlands, kicked off an exciting new initiative for developing the next generation of cloud infrastructure – European Cloud Campus.
In collaboration with the European Commission and based on the IPCEI funds granted by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, this project aims to strengthen Europe’s digital and technical sovereignty by establishing a fully European cloud. We are one of over 100 organizations from twelve EU member states to be chosen to participate in the IPCEI CIS (The Important project of Common European Interest on Cloud Infrastructure and Services), which has funding totaling to around three billion euros. It is from under this framework that our European Cloud Campus was established. The idea is to help create a “Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum” that prevents European cloud infrastructure from being tied to a single provider and establishes a local European Digital Sovereign Cloud.
Why is the IPCEI CIS important?
Digital Sovereignty
Data sovereignty has been a hot topic in Europe for some time now, with concerns around the privacy and security of sensitive European data in the cloud. This is because currently, public cloud infrastructure is dominated by a handful of hyperscalers, which are not accountable to EU law in the same way that a local company would be. For air-tight security and GDPR compliance, European data needs a European sovereign cloud. The IPCEI CIS aims to create European independence in the cloud by removing the dependency on non-European players, which will result in European digital sovereignty.
Vendor lock-in
Europe’s dependency on these foreign companies also leads to issues around scalability, interoperability, and competitiveness. Vendor lock-in has hindered European providers from competing in the market, so Leaseweb is helping to develop an open ecosystem for financial and technological advantages, also enhancing switching capabilities in line with the Data Act.
Economic Boost
The IPCEI CIS will create jobs, attract investments, boost European partnerships and foster growth opportunities for the European region. This will greatly benefit locals but also make the region more appealing to knowledge workers in the EU, whose skills are needed to help combat the shortage of IT talent.
Cost-efficiency
Supporting regional cloud providers rather than non-EU hyperscalers will ensure there are cost-effective alternatives for the European market. Combating the current oligopoly and fostering competition will be a key part of bringing infrastructure costs down, stimulating growth in the European digital economy and providing independent cyber security digital infrastructure.
Therefore, the European Cloud Campus supports the increasing demand for independent European-based digital infrastructure providers, data processing technologies, AI, and cloud applications. Hence, the need to develop a European sovereign cloud and its incorporation shaping Europe’s digital future based on EU Cloud Computing.
What does Leaseweb aim to achieve?
The IPCEI CIS fits well with Leaseweb’s broader goals to deliver hybrid cloud services that are highly scalable, energy efficient, automated, vertically integrated and multi-tenant.
Sustainability
Leaseweb has already been committed to reducing our carbon footprint for some time, with our Green Team leading the way towards our sustainability goals.The IPCEI CIS is an exciting opportunity to revolutionize the way our systems  e will be working towards perfecting green computing in Europe by developing sustainable solutions wherever we can and investigating how we can measure the sustainability of the cloud. Leaseweb is an established member of the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact through CISPE.  The IPCEI CIS is an exciting opportunity to revolutionize the way our systems impact the environment. We will be working towards perfecting green computing in Europe by developing sustainable solutions wherever we can and investigating how we can measure the sustainability of the cloud. Leaseweb is an established member of the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact through CISPE.
Cybersecurity
Under the IPCEI CIS, security is a major priority when designing and building the new infrastructure, implementing NIS2 and other European state-of-the-art cybersecurity principles for independent cloud computing federated digital infrastructure. The more digital independence Europe has, the stronger our security.
Collaboration
The IPCEI CIS will require enormous collaboration, and we are excited to partner with educational institutions, NGOs, and other European companies. We believe that building open-source software is key to securing Europe’s digital future and we are excited to contribute. Our vision is for Europe to not just compete in the market, but to lead it. So, we will be training ‘cloud workers’ to uplift a growing new workforce and prepare for Europe’s future.
Learn more about Leaseweb’s European Cloud Campus.
Be sure to attend the talk of our Product Owner, Neven Dogovic, on IPCEI and Leaseweb’s European Cloud Campus at the CloudStack Collaboration Conference in Madrid this November.
