Amazon AWS: Amazon to launch sovereign cloud region in Europe

Amazon Web Services has revealed its plans to launch new cloud regions in Europe. The company notes that the first region will be in Germany, suggesting that the company plans to launch more than one. 

“The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will allow government agencies, regulated industries, and the independent software vendors (ISVs) that support them to store sensitive data and run critical workloads on AWS infrastructure that is operated and supported by AWS employees located in and residents of the European Union (EU),” Amazon announced this week. 

“The upcoming AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be separate from, and independent of, the eight existing AWS Regions. The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be operationally independent of the other regions, with separate in-region billing and usage metering systems.”

AWS chief evangelist Jeff Barr also noted in a blog post, “The initial region will be located in Germany. It will launch with multiple Availability Zones, each in separate and distinct geographic locations, with enough distance between them to significantly reduce the risk of a single event impacting your business continuity.”