France's Bold Cloud Shift: Scaleway Takes Over Health Data Hub
France has selected Scaleway, a domestic cloud provider, replacing Microsoft Azure to host its Health Data Hub, marking a significant move towards European cloud sovereignty. This decision is part of a broader European shift away from U.S. Big Tech control, with Scaleway also securing a major cloud contract from the European Commission.
France has made a significant shift in cloud service providers, choosing domestic company Scaleway over Microsoft Azure to host the country's Health Data Hub. This decision is a part of Europe’s broader aim to achieve cloud sovereignty without relying on U.S.-based tech giants.
Neighboring Germany is also transitioning away from Microsoft products, and Denmark’s digital affairs ministry is adopting open-source alternatives like LibreOffice. The move marks Scaleway’s continued growth, following a European Commission cloud contract win that tasks the company with securing health records for millions of French citizens by 2027.
Initially selecting Microsoft in 2019 without competition led to legal challenges over data control and privacy concerns. In response, France enacted laws mandating sovereign-hosted sensitive data, effectively barring non-European access. The new hosting framework, SecNumCloud, ensures stringent data protection requirements excluding non-European legal access, spotlighting Europe's strengthening data sovereignty.
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