07/15/2025
Table of ContentsMicrosoft’s recent announcement of comprehensive sovereign solutions for European organizations marks a pivotal moment in cloud computing. With Microsoft Sovereign Cloud spanning public cloud, private digital infrastructure, and national partner clouds, European businesses now have unprecedented control over their digital environments.
However, while Microsoft secures the infrastructure, organizations must recognize a critical reality: they remain responsible for protecting, backing up, and recovering their own data. At the end of the day, Microsoft Sovereign Cloud solutions do not fix data governance, security, or cost issues. They only address issues related to data sovereignty and ownership.
This blog post outlines the key elements of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud offering and highlights why adopting a shared responsibility model is essential for comprehensive data protection and control.
We’ll also demonstrate how partnering with AvePoint empowers your organization to achieve seamless sovereign integrations, automated and resilient data protection, and full advantage of Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud innovations.
Highlights From Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud Announcement
Microsoft introduced a comprehensive suite of cloud solutions designed to give European organizations greater control, compliance, and digital resilience. The solutions are tailored to specific sovereignty and regulatory needs.
Types of Sovereign Cloud Solutions
The three main types of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud solutions are:
1. Sovereign Public Cloud
- Ensures all customer data remains in Europe, governed by European law.
- Maintains security by limiting operations and access solely by European personnel.
- Allows customers to retain full control over encryption.
- Integrates enterprise services like Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Security, and Power Platform, with no migration required for existing workloads.
2. Sovereign Private Cloud
- Supports critical workloads in hybrid or air-gapped environments.
- Includes Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local, enabling organizations to run services in their own or partner data centers for maximum control and compliance.
3. National Partner Clouds
- Allows independent operation of trusted partners for the public sector and critical infrastructure.
- Examples of national partner clouds include Bleu in France and Delos Cloud in Germany, meeting stringent national requirements.
Key Features and Innovations
The significant innovations in Microsoft Sovereign Cloud solutions include:
1. Data Guardian
- Provides European oversight for all remote access, with real-time monitoring and tamper-evident logging.
2. External Key Management
- Allows customers to manage encryption keys on-premises or with a trusted third party, ensuring complete data control.
3. Regulated Environment Management
- Centralizes configuration, deployment, and monitoring of sovereign workloads, simplifying compliance and security management.
Understanding the Shared Responsibility Model
Microsoft Sovereign Cloud offerings – including Data Guardian, External Key Management, and Microsoft 365 Local – provide robust infrastructure security and compliance controls. These solutions ensure data stays within European borders, operates under European law, and maintains customer-controlled encryption. Yet infrastructure security is only part of the equation.
The shared responsibility model clearly delineates that while Microsoft manages the underlying platform security, customers are accountable for their data protection strategies. This includes safeguarding against data loss, implementing comprehensive backup solutions, and ensuring business continuity when disruptions occur.
The Reality of Data Loss in Cloud Environments
Recent research reveals the urgency of this shared responsibility framework. Here are some notable findings that show how organizations are grappling with cybersecurity risks leading to data loss:
- The average cost of a data breach reached an all-time high of $4.9 million in 2024, according to IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Report 2024.
- Ransomware remains a top threat across 92% of industries, the 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found.
- Phishing and business email compromise (BEC) accounted for a quarter of all financially motivated attacks observed in the past two years.
- Human error, including accidental deletions, is among the leading causes of data loss events, contributing to 68% of breaches in 2024. Vendor mishaps and IT outages also contribute to data loss. While less frequently reported, enterprises need to protect critical data against loss from such risks, a lesson learned from the CrowdStrike outage in mid-2024.
As businesses increasingly rely on SaaS technologies, it is essential to ensure that data is protected and easily recoverable. This growing reliance was emphasized in a Gartner report predicting that by 2028, 75% of enterprises will prioritize SaaS application backup, a steep rise from only 15% in 2024.
Sovereign Cloud Compliance Requires More Than Infrastructure
For organizations in highly regulated sectors – healthcare, government, financial services, transportation, and energy – compliance extends beyond data residency. These industries face stringent requirements under GDPR, NIS2, and emerging regulations like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
True compliance demands:
- Data residency and sovereignty: Backup data that stays within European borders
- Granular control: Customer-managed retention policies, encryption keys, and access controls
- Comprehensive auditability: Detailed logging and reporting capabilities for regulatory compliance
- Automated recovery capabilities: Rapid restoration to minimize business impact and regulatory exposure
Microsoft’s sovereign infrastructure provides the foundation, but organizations need specialized data protection solutions that align with these requirements while maintaining the same level of sovereignty and control.
AvePoint’s Value Proposition for European Organizations
AvePoint Cloud Backup fully integrates with Microsoft’s sovereign cloud ecosystem, including Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, Azure Local, and Microsoft 365 Local. Our solution provides the missing piece of the sovereignty puzzle: comprehensive, automated data protection that maintains the same rigorous European standards.
Seamless Sovereign Integration
The AvePoint Confidence Platform, with its Cloud Backup solution, works natively within Microsoft’s sovereign environment, ensuring that data protection maintains the same residency, compliance, and control standards that organizations require. There’s no compromise between comprehensive backup and sovereign requirements.
Automated, Resilient Protection
Our solution provides automated, frequent backups that protect against all forms of data loss — from human error to sophisticated cyberattacks. With granular recovery capabilities, organizations can restore individual files, entire applications, or complete environments without disrupting operations.
Hybrid and Air-Gapped Support
For organizations requiring the highest levels of security – such as government agencies or critical infrastructure providers – AvePoint supports both hybrid cloud and fully air-gapped environments. This flexibility ensures that even the most sensitive workloads can benefit from comprehensive data protection while meeting the strictest operational requirements.
European Partnership Ecosystem
AvePoint is ready to collaborate with Microsoft and its European partners, including Orange, Capgemini, and SAP, to deliver integrated sovereign solutions. This partnership approach ensures that organizations receive cohesive, fully compliant data protection strategies.
Stronger Cyber Defenses: How Microsoft Sovereign Cloud Solutions Align with DORA’s Requirements
It is crucial to point out that Microsoft’s comprehensive sovereign cloud solutions are well-aligned with the DORA operational, technical, and governance requirements, making them a strong foundation for European financial entities and regulated sectors seeking DORA compliance. Table 1 illustrates the alignment and support of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud solutions with the pillars of DORA:
Securing Europe’s Digital Future
Microsoft Sovereign Cloud announcement represents a significant step forward for European digital autonomy. However, organizations must recognize that infrastructure sovereignty is only the foundation. True digital resilience requires comprehensive data protection strategies that match the sophistication and standards of the underlying platform.
The question isn’t whether to implement additional data protection — it’s how quickly you can deploy solutions that maintain your sovereign cloud investments while providing the comprehensive backup and recovery capabilities your organization demands.
As European organizations navigate the evolving landscape of digital sovereignty, AvePoint remains committed to providing the data protection solutions that enable secure, compliant, and resilient cloud operations. Together with Microsoft and our European partners, we’re building the foundation for Europe’s trusted digital future.
Ready to explore how AvePoint Cloud Backup can complete your Microsoft Sovereign Cloud strategy? Learn more about our comprehensive backup and data management solutions designed specifically for sovereign cloud environments.
