Microsoft has announced an expansion of its sovereign cloud offerings across Europe, introducing new data protection measures and private cloud capabilities designed to give European customers greater control over their data and compliance requirements.

The technology giant revealed its Microsoft Sovereign Cloud portfolio, which encompasses both public and private cloud infrastructure options. The announcement builds on the company's 42-year presence in Europe and addresses growing concerns about data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.

Under the new Sovereign Public Cloud service, customer data will remain within Europe under European law, with operations controlled by European personnel and encryption managed entirely by customers. The service will be available across all existing European data centre regions without requiring customer migration.

Microsoft has introduced Data Guardian, a new feature that ensures only Microsoft personnel residing in Europe control remote access to systems storing European customer data. Any access by engineers outside Europe requires approval and real-time monitoring by European resident staff, with all activities logged in a tamper-evident ledger.

The company also unveiled External Key Management, allowing customers to connect Azure to encryption keys stored on their own hardware security modules or with trusted third parties. Microsoft is collaborating with major manufacturers including Futurex, Thales and Utimaco to support this capability.

For customers requiring complete physical control, Microsoft's Sovereign Private Cloud integrates Azure Local with the newly announced Microsoft 365 Local. This solution enables organisations to run Microsoft productivity services entirely within their own datacentres, designed for governments and critical industries with the highest data residency requirements.

The initiative extends to National Partner Clouds in France and Germany. In France, Microsoft has partnered with Bleu, a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini, to operate a sovereign cloud meeting SecNumCloud requirements. In Germany, Delos Cloud, an SAP subsidiary, will operate sovereign cloud services for the German public sector.

"The launch of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud marks a pivotal moment in empowering European institutions and industries with the control, compliance and innovation they need to thrive in today's digital economy," said Aiman Ezzat, chief executive officer of Capgemini Group.

Microsoft has also introduced a new Sovereign Cloud specialisation within its AI Cloud Partner Programme, featuring preview partners including Accenture, Atos, Capgemini, Dell Technologies, IBM and others.

The Sovereign Private Cloud is currently in preview mode and will become generally available later this year, with the Sovereign Public Cloud expected to launch across all European regions during the same timeframe.

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