A1 Digital is preparing to open its first cloud zone in Spain during the second half of 2026. The company will deploy Exoscale’s infrastructure within a third-party data center, still to be identified, and will offer computing, storage, Kubernetes, databases, and artificial intelligence services from the country. This project is part of a broader strategy to expand in Western Europe with an open-source technology-based alternative hosted entirely within European territory.
The essentials of A1 Digital’s arrival in Spain in 20 seconds
- Expected opening: The new cloud zone should be operational in the second half of 2026.
- Deployment model: A1 Digital will install its platform in a third-party data center, so it will not initially build its own data center.
- Initial architecture: The Spanish zone will start with a single data center and can expand based on demand.
- Main platform: The offering will be based on Exoscale, Europe’s public cloud solution built on open-source technologies.
- Planned services: Virtual machines, storage, Kubernetes, managed databases, GPUs, and AI model inference.
- Target customers: SaaS companies, SMEs, large corporations, public administrations, and organizations in regulated sectors.
- Sovereignty and compliance: Data will be hosted in Europe, and the company has initiated the process to obtain the National Security Scheme (ENS) certification in Spain.
- Local team: A1 Digital leverages staff, SAP expertise, and client relationships from Claro Enterprise Solutions.
The project does not start from a newly created subsidiary. A1 Group acquired 100% of Claro Enterprise Solutions Spain on September 1, 2025, through an internal transaction between companies controlled by America Móvil. The entity officially changed its name to A1 Digital Spain in January 2026, maintaining a specialized SAP team and an established commercial base in the Spanish market.
Building on that foundation, the company will add A1 Digital’s international divisions: cloud infrastructure, managed connectivity, networking, cybersecurity, and IoT. It is also recruiting technical and commercial profiles and aims to create a partner network composed of integrators, IT service providers, SaaS companies, and connectivity resellers.
Spain was chosen due to its growing tech market, demand for local infrastructure, and business ties with Latin America. For A1 Digital, the new zone can serve Spanish and other Western European clients and act as a commercial gateway to Latin America and, to a lesser extent, Africa.
This position does not automatically make Spain the lowest-latency location for all Latin American users. Results will depend on the country of origin, submarine routes, operator agreements, and the network each client uses. However, it offers an improvement over running these workloads solely from data centers in Central or Eastern Europe.
A cloud zone in a single data center during the initial phase
The term “cloud zone” might imply a new campus built and operated directly by A1 Digital. The initial project will be different: the company will rent space, power, and connectivity in a specialized data center, while hardware and cloud platform management will be handled via Exoscale’s architecture.
The location has not been announced yet. A1 Digital states it is evaluating energy efficiency, access to renewable electricity, connectivity, physical security, and the growth capacity of potential sites.
The first phase will utilize a single data center. This approach accelerates deployment and allows testing demand before committing to a larger expansion. However, it also means distinguishing between zone availability and geographic redundancy. Clients needing continuity in case of total site failure will have to replicate their services in another Exoscale European zone or design a multi-cloud architecture.
The platform supports workload mobility between zones, though a full migration might require replicating databases, copying storage, adjusting network addresses, and reviewing dependencies. Portability is easier when applications are designed from the start with containers, automation, and open formats.
A1 Digital guarantees that all key Exoscale services will be available from the start. The company cites hardware from Nvidia, Intel, and Lenovo but has not yet specified the zone’s capacity, number of servers, contracted electrical power, or GPU models to be installed in Spain.
It remains to be seen whether the launch will include all managed services in production or if some functions will be rolled out gradually. In a new cloud region, services like object storage, databases, GPUs, and AI services may require different deployment scales and capacities.
Exoscale’s offering includes compute instances, block storage compatible with S3, managed databases, key management, private networks, and SKS—its managed Kubernetes service. The company claims that its integration with Karpenter allows automatic adjustment of cluster nodes according to application needs, though the assertion of being the only European provider with this feature is based on the company’s own statements and is difficult to compare without defining equivalent configurations and services.
One of Exoscale’s latest products is Dedicated Inference, designed to deploy AI models on Nvidia GPUs reserved for each client. This service offers an OpenAI-compatible API, supports public or private models, and allows scaling up or down the number of replicas. Billing is based on GPU usage time, not tokens processed, which can help forecast costs in stable workloads, although it may not always be cheaper depending on the scenario.
European sovereignty as a differentiator against hyperscalers
A1 Digital’s main commercial message revolves around digital sovereignty. Exoscale was founded in Switzerland and is part of the A1 Telekom Austria Group. Its infrastructure spans European data centers, and its platform relies heavily on open-source projects.
For the company, sovereignty means keeping data and its processing within Europe, operating under European legislation, and reducing dependence on software or intellectual property controlled by foreign providers. Exoscale holds certifications such as ISO 27001 and publishes information on its security controls and compliance measures. According to Castiglioni, the future Spanish zone is in the process of preparation to obtain ENS certification.
Open source helps reduce some dependencies but does not eliminate the risk of vendor lock-in. Companies must also review APIs, storage formats, managed services, data egress costs, and the work needed to rebuild the platform in another environment.
Sovereignty is not solely about the operator’s nationality. It also involves data location, applicable jurisdiction, administrative access, encryption, supply chain security, technical support, and the practical ability to migrate workloads without complete reimplementation.
A1 Digital argues that its European setup prevents Exoscale from being subject to U.S. extraterritorial laws like the CLOUD Act. This is a significant difference compared to European subsidiaries of major North American providers, although each organization must assess its legal, contractual, and sector-specific requirements before choosing a cloud provider.
Regulations are increasing interest in these alternatives. GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and sectoral requirements for public and critical infrastructure have led more companies to review file locations, access controls, and third-party dependencies.
This does not mean a widespread retreat from AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. The most likely scenario involves a blend of providers: some applications will stay on hyperscalers, sensitive data will be kept on European clouds, and some infrastructure will remain in private or local data centers.
A1 Digital aims to capture this movement. Its target audience includes developers, SaaS companies, public administrations, healthcare, finance, and industry. Its IoT connectivity service extends its reach to transportation, energy, and telemetry projects. Notable international references include 16,000 connected freight wagons for Austrian Railways and over a million measuring points in smart meter projects.
Sustainability will also influence data center selection. Exoscale uses CloudAssess, an open tool applying lifecycle analysis to estimate not only emissions related to electricity consumption but also other impacts linked to hardware and resource use. This information can support environmental reporting and cloud usage decisions.
Additionally, the company has tested in Vienna a liquid cooling technology developed with Austrian firm Diggers. A1 Digital claims this system can reduce energy consumption by up to 50% compared to traditional designs and reuses much of the thermal energy, although these figures are based on their experiences and may vary depending on climate, rack density, and heat utilization.
The timeline is tight. With the second half of 2026 already underway, A1 Digital must finalize site selection, install equipment, deploy networks, and complete testing before launching the commercial zone. The company has not announced a specific date within this period.
Exoscale’s entry will expand the portfolio of European cloud offerings from Spain and increase competitive pressure in a market already populated by local providers, continental companies, and global hyperscalers. Its ability to attract clients will depend less on sovereignty claims and more on practical factors such as product catalog, performance, local support, pricing, connectivity, and ease of application migration.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will A1 Digital open its cloud zone in Spain?
The company expects to launch it in the second half of 2026, though no specific date has been announced yet.
Will A1 Digital build its own data center?
Not in the initial phase. It will install and manage the cloud infrastructure within a data center operated by an external provider.
What services will Exoscale provide from Spain?
The plan includes computing, storage, networking, Kubernetes, managed databases, GPUs, and AI inference services.
What does Claro Enterprise Solutions bring to the project?
It provides an experienced local team with SAP expertise, market knowledge, and established commercial relationships. The entity was acquired by A1 Group in 2025 and rebranded as A1 Digital Spain in January 2026.
