Airbus Moves Critical Apps Off AWS to French Cloud
Airbus is moving its most critical apps off AWS to a French cloud provider, Scaleway, in a push for digital sovereignty that keeps sensitive data beyond the reach of US law.
Background
- July 17, 2026: Airbus announces its plan to transfer approximately 900 applications, starting with 70 currently on AWS.
- Motivation: To maintain control over critical data and shield it from foreign extraterritorial laws, particularly the US CLOUD Act.
Details
- Applications Affected: These include Airbus’s ERP, manufacturing, CRM, and product-lifecycle software, covering aircraft design, engineering, manufacturing, and enterprise operations.
- Provider: Scaleway, owned by France’s iliad Group, was selected through a competitive tender worth more than €50 million over up to 10 years.
- Competitive Factors: Airbus evaluated bidders based on technical strength, operational resilience, and legal safeguards against non-European laws, ultimately choosing Scaleway for its strong technical capabilities at a competitive price.
Context
- US CLOUD Act: This law allows American authorities to request data held by US firms, even in overseas data centers, causing concern among European companies about data sovereignty.
- Digital Sovereignty: Tensions between the US and Europe have intensified, leading to calls for digital sovereignty and the development of "sovereign" cloud offerings by major tech companies like AWS, Microsoft, and Google.
Airbus’s Approach
- Balanced Strategy: While moving critical apps to Scaleway, Airbus will continue using AWS for its Skywise aviation-data platform and a customer-support tool. It also utilizes Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Coupa, and Workday.
- Justification: "We do not intend to move away from all non-European solutions; we balance our choices based on the criticality of the data," stated Catherine Jestin, Airbus’s digital chief.
Impact
- European Cloud Ambitions: The deal is a significant win for Europe’s sovereign cloud aspirations, demonstrating its ability to provide high-standard solutions independently from US infrastructure.
- Scaleway’s Positioning: Scaleway CEO Damien Lucas considers this as proof that Europe can deliver a sovereign cloud at the highest international standards.