Airbus Seeks Sovereign Cloud Over Security Concerns

(MENAFN) European aerospace giant Airbus has chosen to relocate its vital digital infrastructure away from Google’s cloud platform. Executives explained that the move is motivated by worries over data security and sovereignty, particularly regarding US jurisdiction over sensitive industrial information.

This decision coincides with Google facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States over alleged privacy breaches tied to its AI assistant, Gemini. The case claims the tool was covertly activated across Gmail, Chat, and Meet in October, granting Google access to emails, attachments, and video calls without user approval, according to a media outlet. Google has rejected these accusations.

Airbus is preparing to launch a major tender to shift mission-critical workloads to a sovereign European cloud provider. Currently reliant on Google Workspace, the company intends to migrate essential on-premises systems after consolidating its data centers.

The transition would encompass core operations such as production, business management, and aircraft design data. Airbus estimates only an 80% likelihood of finding a European provider capable of fulfilling both its technical and legal demands.

Airbus executive vice president of digital Catherine Jestin emphasized the importance of sovereignty, stating to a news agency: “I need a sovereign cloud because part of the information is extremely sensitive from a national and European perspective. We want to ensure this information remains under European control.”

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