Google Cloud commits to European data sovereignty

Interview with Daniel Holz

Innovative and open, these are the attributes Google Cloud claims for itself. Daniel Holz, North EMEA head of the hyperscaler, provides insight into how the number three in the market is catching up with the competition and why Gaia-X is essential for the provider's strategy in Europe.

If you ask representatives of Google Cloud about differentiating features from competitors, the term openness usually comes up first. Why is this characteristic so important for the provider?

Holz: In fact, many companies of all sizes and from all industries have already opted for us, including Commerzbank and the retailer Otto. We were relatively late to start actively cultivating the market with our sales force. That's why Google Cloud is now still number three in many segments. The fact that we are nevertheless experiencing strong demand for our offerings is due to the openness of the platform and the solutions, and our strong commitment to open standards. Many customers have already decided on a cloud provider of their choice. If they want to add another provider, it is a plus for us that we do not use proprietary technologies. This means there is no lock-in, and customers can simply transfer the workloads they are running on our platform to another provider at a later date if they so wish.

What open solutions are you thinking about specifically?

Holz: Two good examples are Anthos, our platform for deploying applications across hybrid and multicloud environments, and Apigee, our open API management. Both are solutions that really help customers. When companies modernize their application landscape, there is a strong case for doing so based on open standards. This keeps all the choices open as to which providers they want to work with in the future.

Like the other hyperscalers, Google Cloud uses many open source technologies. However, the company probably gives the most back to the community of all. The most prominent example is Kubernetes. What is the strategy behind this?

Holz: We actually work closely with the community and contribute many developments. Not only Kubernetes, but also the open source framework Tensorflow, on the basis of which machine learning applications can be developed, was originally created by Google. We offer these solutions in an environment managed by us as managed services. In addition to our commitment to open standards, these technologies demonstrate that Google is a true driver of innovation. "The World's biggest Startup," is completely true of the company. Like openness, it is this culture of innovation that helps us in the market and is why customers choose us.

To what extent does the image of an innovation driver help you in sales?

Holz: Cloud projects are always change projects. And the employees who deal with Google cloud solutions take a part of our innovation culture and carry it into their own organization. This charges the corporate culture with innovative power. In addition to openness, this is an important aspect for our customers.

What role do cultural aspects generally play in cloud transformation?

Holz: The cultural aspects are enormously important. It is crucial for the success of cloud projects that they are supported by the board of directors or the management. Companies are moving their IT from their own data centers to the cloud and introducing new solutions. This changes responsibilities and workflows. If AI solutions are introduced, completely new tasks arise for which new skills have to be built up. Other tasks fall away. Companies need to prepare for all of these things accordingly. We accompany this process with workshops and training sessions, with particular help from our partners. Companies should definitely take organizational and cultural change into account in the project plan and allow sufficient time for it to ensure that the transformation is successful.

Choice and sovereignty in cloud use are also at the heart of the Franco-German Gaia-X project. Google Cloud has announced that it will be involved in this project. How far will this involvement go?

Holz: The topics of data privacy and data sovereignty are of crucial importance for Google Cloud. The (internal) working group dealing with this complex and with sovereign solutions for the European market is chaired by our CEO Thomas Kurian, and he regularly attends the weekly meetings. We are convinced that what is passed in Germany and France will decisively shape how cloud services are used in Europe in the future. That is why we take this discussion very seriously and are actively involved in Gaia-X. In addition, we are in discussion with the authorities accompanying the process to ensure that we comply with the standards. One thing is certain: Google Cloud wants to offer solutions that are fully Gaia-X compliant. That is the core of our digitization strategy for Europe.

Is the cooperation with the French service provider OVHcloud also to be seen in this context?

Holz: Yes, indeed. The partner OVH operates a special version of the Google Cloud in its data centers, namely a sovereign cloud in which the data is encrypted end-to-end. Here, an external provider will handle the key handling and keep the keys for the customers to ensure highest security and complete control over data access. We are working on establishing a similar cooperation with German partners for the local market.