With digital sovereignty no longer a specialized issue, Google has extended its sovereign cloud services to mitigate increasing concern from international customers. This is against a background of increased geopolitical tensions and an evolving regulatory environment.
Headlining the upgrade is Google Cloud Air-Gapped, which is a complete isolation platform running without any external network access. Designed for the strictest security environments—such as defense and intelligence—it offers a standalone deployment model. Organizations can run it independently or with Google or approved partners, giving flexibility to meet both security and compliance goals. The platform now holds authorization to host U.S. government Top Secret and Secret-level data.
In addition to Air-Gapped, Google launched Google Cloud Dedicated, developed in partnership with French company Thales and operated by S3NS. The sovereign cloud offering, in preview now, adheres to the tough security requirements of France’s SecNumCloud initiative. Additionally, Google will bring Cloud Dedicated to Germany next, further emphasizing its dedication to local control.
Moreover, User Data Shield, a latest addition to Google’s Cloud Data Boundary, adds Mandiant validation and increases customer control and security for application workloads. Together, these enable a multi-layer sovereignty strategy that combines local compliance with elastic infrastructure.
Other technology companies are following closely behind. Amazon opened its AWS European Sovereign Cloud in 2023, vowing full independence from U.S. operations. Microsoft also followed up, finishing its EU Data Boundary initiative and vowing legal stand against any foreign intrusion into European data centers.
According to Hayete Gallot, President of Customer Experience at Google Cloud, the landscape has changed rapidly. “Sovereignty used to be a specialized concern. Now, everyone is asking how to protect their digital operations.”
Notably, Google has partnered with providers such as T-Systems, S3NS, Telecom Italia, and Minsait to deliver these offerings across Asia, Europe, and North America. By meshing open-source infrastructure, local governance, and cutting-edge cybersecurity, the firm is positioning its platform to be friendly to local laws and political imperatives.
With cloud adoption moving so fast, so does the need to break up key services from foreign control. Google’s recent actions demonstrate an unmistakable wisdom: sovereignty is not a future option—it’s a frontline requirement.
