Google Cloud and Thales, a provider of advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors, have established a strategic partnership to launch a sovereign cloud service in Germany. The objective is to keep sensitive data beyond the reach of foreign jurisdictions, as demand grows among governments and regulated industries for locally controlled cloud infrastructure.
The service will operate through a new Germany-based entity, independent from Google Cloud and developed to comply with standards including C5 and the emerging C3A framework. The companies explained in a press release that under the agreement, Thales will create a new Germany-based company that will operate independently from Google Cloud.
The structure aims to prevent access to customer data by non-European third parties or under foreign legal jurisdictions. The move expands on the model developed by S3NS, Thales’ French cloud subsidiary, which operates a sovereign cloud region in France.
Google Cloud described the partnership as part of growing demand in Europe for cloud services that combine hyperscale infrastructure with local operational control and regulatory safeguards.
Marianne Janik, Vice President, EMEA North, Google Cloud, stated, “Our partnership with Thales in Germany represents a significant milestone in our commitment to digital sovereignty in Germany and Europe. By combining the power and scale of Google Cloud with Thales’ deep expertise in cybersecurity and local operational control, we are enabling German organizations even in the most sensitive sectors to innovate with confidence, while meeting the specific legal and operational safeguards required by the local regulatory landscape.”
Christoph Ruffner, CEO and Country Director, Thales in Germany, said, “Germany represents a critical market for sovereign technologies, and this partnership is a direct response to private and public sector German organizations wanting access to Google Cloud’s technology under full German control.”
Hélène Bringer, President of S3NS and Vice-President, Critical Information Systems, Thales, said, “S3NS highly welcomes this new partnership. With this German region, we are building a European first: by aiming for both SecNumCloud qualification and C5 – C3A framework across both regions, it is the first time a sovereign cloud model targets different local certifications simultaneously, simplifying the compliance burden for multinational customers.”
The new service is intended for public sector organizations and industries with strict regulatory requirements, where concerns over foreign access to cloud-hosted data have become increasingly important. The service, expected to become generally available by Q4 2026.