Airbus relocates essential applications from AWS to a French cloud.

      Airbus is relocating some of its most sensitive systems from Amazon Web Services to a European cloud provider. The aerospace company has selected Scaleway, a French provider, for this task.

      This move pertains to the applications that are essential for Airbus to maintain its status as a “minimum viable company,” which includes around 900 applications, starting with 70 that are currently on AWS, according to The Register.

      What is being transitioned and the rationale behind it

      The systems transitioning to Scaleway encompass Airbus’s ERP, manufacturing, CRM, and product lifecycle systems, covering areas such as aircraft design, engineering, manufacturing, and enterprise operations.

      The aim is to ensure that this data remains under European control. "This arrangement protects our critical data assets from foreign extraterritorial laws,” stated Catherine Jestin, Airbus’s chief of digital operations. Scaleway, which is owned by France’s iliad Group, secured a competitive tender worth over €50 million for up to ten years, as reported by Techzine.

      Airbus evaluated bidders on three criteria: technical capability, operational resilience, and legal protections against non-European regulations. Jestin mentioned that Scaleway provided a robust technical proposal at a competitive price compared to larger cloud providers.

      The context of sovereignty

      This initiative is influenced by the US CLOUD Act, which permits American authorities to request data from US companies, even if that data is stored in foreign data centers. Last year, a Microsoft executive testified in a French court that the company could not ensure data sovereignty.

      Tensions between the US and Europe have intensified during a second Trump administration, amplifying demands for digital sovereignty. AWS, Microsoft, and Google have all introduced "sovereign" solutions to reassure their European clients.

      Not a complete separation

      However, this does not mean Airbus is completely distancing itself from US tech giants. The company will continue using AWS for its Skywise aviation data platform and a customer support tool. It also utilizes Microsoft and Google productivity software, as well as platforms like Salesforce, Coupa, and Workday.

      “We do not plan to entirely remove all non-European solutions; we make choices based on the criticality of the data,” Jestin explained. AWS chose not to comment on the matter.

      This agreement represents a significant achievement for Europe’s sovereign cloud objectives and illustrates a broader movement toward reduced reliance on American infrastructure. According to Scaleway chief Damien Lucas, it demonstrates that Europe can provide sovereign cloud services “at the highest international standards.”