Distributed Cloud Infrastructures are Key to Delivering a Choice of Sovereign, ‘Trump-Proof’ Cloud Services
This press release is also available in French, Spanish and German.
27th March 2025, Brussels. Today, CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe) announced a strategic commitment of €1 million in open-source software development to accelerate the Fulcrum Project*, marking a significant step towards European cloud sovereignty. This announcement coincides with the public release of Fulcrum’s open-source code designed to enable European cloud providers to pool and federate their infrastructures, offering a scalable and competitive alternative to foreign-controlled hyperscale cloud providers.
Updated Sovereignty Principles
Many cloud customers, including European public administrations, are concerned that foreign governments have too much power to demand data, impose tariffs and restrict services on the cloud infrastructures they use. Customers need options to select ‘Trump-Proof’ cloud services that rely on 100% European cloud infrastructure and services and are immune from disruption, access and potential removal by foreign actors.
In this volatile geopolitical context, CISPE has updated its Digital Sovereignty Principles for Cloud Infrastructure Services (first published in 2022) with three new imperatives for rapid and effective development of sovereign cloud choices for Europe:
- Buy and Invest in European Cloud and AI Infrastructures
- Ensure Choice of Cloud Solutions Independent from Non-European Government Influence
- Pool Distributed European Cloud Resources through Open Frameworks
Further details about these pillars can be found on the CISPE website.
Investing in open-source federated cloud at scale
The Fulcrum code, developed with CISPE’s investment, will be licensed as open source so that any cloud service provider looking to integrate or consume pooled cloud resources can participate. Fulcrum demonstrate a fast and effective approach to scaling existing European resources to rapidly meet the challenges of sovereignty and strategic autonomy in the cloud.
Emile Chalouhi of the Fulcrum Project emphasized the acceleration facilitated by CISPE’s support: “The financial backing and expert collaboration from CISPE have been transformative. With the publication of our open-source code, we aim to foster deeper industry collaboration, empowering European providers to scale and deliver strategically autonomous cloud solutions and accelerate the adoption of European software through a new cloud ecosystem paradigm shift.”
CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance said: “We share the diagnosis that Europe lacks an effective choice of sovereign and strategically autonomous cloud solutions at scale. Past attempts to create ‘Airbus-style’ cloud champions have repeatedly failed because centralized, top-down approaches ignore market dynamics and innovation. Europe’s strength lies in its diversity and bottom-up approaches—we are home to more cloud infrastructure providers than any other continent. Collectively, these providers can pool their resources to deliver greater diversity, reach, and scale than any single company could achieve alone.”
—–
* About the Fulcrum Project: The Fulcrum Project is an open-source digital exchange enabling European service providers to federate distributed cloud services, matching the scale, reach, and capabilities of hyperscale cloud providers. Over 15 CISPE companies participate in this initiative, and all cloud providers are free to use the cloud infrastructure management software released under the project.
Fulcrum aims to create a common multi-layer federation, allowing Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers, Cloud Application Service Providers, Managed Service Providers, Internet Service Providers, Carriers, and Internet Exchange Points to pool resources. It is positioned as the collaboration engine driving scalable, distributed cloud infrastructure, providing a sovereign alternative to hyperscale solutions.
The Fulcrum (Core) software is a comprehensive cloud infrastructure management system designed to orchestrate and monitor distributed cloud resources across multiple providers.
Fulcrum’s source code is on GitHub: https://github.com/fulcrumproject/core?tab=readme-ov-file
About CISPE
CISPE is the most representative, respected and relevant association for cloud service providers in Europe. Working for the benefit of cloud vendors and users, CISPE gives a voice to all players from local SMEs to global hyperscale cloud providers. It has proven itself a valuable partner to European institutions through insight and the development of practical tools, frameworks, codes of conduct and guides that help implement EU policy. CISPE is also a founding and current board member of Gaia-X.
CISPE is governed by an exclusively European board with equal representation of both large and small providers. Hyperscale cloud providers participate in CISPE as non-voting members only.
For further information please contact:
Ben Maynard
Director of Communications, CISPE