Aire will hold the presentation of the second edition of the Cloud Nation Observatory in Madrid on May 26th. This report is designed to analyze how Spanish companies are adopting the cloud, what barriers are still hindering progress, and the roles that data sovereignty, cybersecurity, connectivity, and hybrid models will play in the coming years.
The event will take place at Bulevard30, located at Gran Vía 30, 13th floor, with in-person reception starting at 9:30 a.m., and the agenda will extend until midday. It will also be accessible online via LinkedIn Live, providing an opportunity for technology sector professionals who cannot attend physically to follow the presentation. Registration for in-person attendance is available through the official Cloud Nation 2026 Observatory page, while online access will be available from the LinkedIn event page.
Data sovereignty enters the cloud agenda
The Cloud Nation 2026 Observatory arrives at a time when cloud discussions no longer revolve solely around costs, elasticity, or application migration. Companies are reassessing where they host their data, which providers they use, how they avoid vendor lock-in, what guarantees they have regarding regulatory compliance, and to what extent their cloud infrastructure enables secure adoption of artificial intelligence.
The agenda reflects this shift. Between 10:00 and 10:40, Santi Magazù and Zigor Gaubeca will present the main findings of the report during the keynote Cloud Nation 2026. Following that, from 10:40 to 11:30, the roundtable “How to Achieve Sovereignty in the Cloud” will be moderated by José Ángel Cuadrado Roca, with participation from José María Baños, Teresa Mallada, Miguel Hidalgo, Antonija Tadić, Luis Ángel Fernández, and Sor Arteaga Juárez.
The choice of topic is no coincidence. Data sovereignty has shifted from being a niche concern to becoming a central element of technological strategy. Regulations such as GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and the AI Law, along with growing dependence on global cloud platforms, are compelling many organizations to question what portions of their workloads should be in public cloud, private cloud, or kept within controlled infrastructure aligned with their legal and operational frameworks.
Aire, the organizer of the event, includes within its group companies specialized in connectivity, cloud, data centers, and managed services. Among them is Stackscale, which specializes in private cloud and bare-metal infrastructure, reinforcing the event’s perspective on hybrid cloud, technological sovereignty, and infrastructure control.
What Cloud Nation 2025 already revealed
The previous edition of the Cloud Nation Observatory, titled “Spain Facing the Data Challenge,” provided relevant insights into cloud adoption in the country. One of the most notable findings was that over 50% of companies had less than 25% of their data stored in public clouds, while only one in four exceeded 75% of their data in the cloud. This showed that adoption was still cautious, though significant progress was underway.
The 2025 report also highlighted that flexibility was the most valued factor when choosing a cloud provider. Specifically, 41.9% of respondents cited flexibility in services, pricing, and integration with other providers as the primary criterion. Next were local presence, with 38.7%, and value for money, with 37.1%. This indicates that companies seek providers capable of adapting to hybrid environments, sector-specific models, and evolving needs—not just technical capacity.
| Key Data from Cloud Nation 2025 | Result |
|---|---|
| Companies with less than 25% of data in public cloud | 50.8% |
| Companies with more than 75% of data in public cloud | 24.2% |
| Spanish companies purchasing cloud services | 31.65% |
| EU average for cloud service adoption | 45.2% |
| Companies over 250 employees purchasing cloud services | Over 73% |
| Main factor in choosing cloud provider | Flexibility, 41.9% |
| Main barrier to cloud adoption | Lack of knowledge, 46.8% |
| Companies using cloud for computing capacity | 73.3% |
The European comparison also placed Spain in a less favorable position. According to the whitepaper, 30% of Spanish companies had contracted cloud services, below the EU average of 45.2%. Spain ranked 23rd among the member states, just ahead of Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Moreover, only 29% of Spanish companies showed a high dependence on cloud services compared to 34% across the EU.
Adoption also varied by company size and region. Firms with over 250 employees accounted for 96% of public cloud activity, while medium-sized companies represented just 4%. Regionally, only Catalonia, Madrid, and the Basque Country exceeded the national average in cloud adoption among companies with more than 10 employees. Catalonia led with 44%, followed by Madrid at 38.4%, and the Basque Country at 32.37%.
Barriers: knowledge, security, costs, and migration
The 2025 Observatory identified several barriers that explain differing speeds of cloud adoption in Spain. The lack of knowledge was the main obstacle, cited by 46.8%. Security and regulatory compliance followed at 41.9%, hidden costs at 38.7%, and organizational or cultural barriers at 35.5%.
This aligns directly with the 2026 debate. Adopting cloud now entails not just moving applications to an external provider but redesigning architectures, reviewing contracts, training teams, governing costs, ensuring connectivity, integrating multi-cloud environments, and deciding which data should reside in what infrastructure.
Regarding migrations, the most cited challenge was assessing the feasibility of moving applications to the cloud and understanding dependencies, at 61.3%. Next was adapting architectures to meet security and compliance requirements, at 58%. Cost governance post-migration was noted by 38.7%. These figures clarify why many companies prefer hybrid models over immediate, full cloud migrations.
Connectivity was also a critical factor. The report highlighted that dedicated links and self-managed VPNs are preferred solutions for accessing public clouds—especially in organizations requiring security, network isolation, high performance, and low latency. Furthermore, 71% of professionals cited network management as the main concern regarding cloud connectivity.
Spain’s opportunity in data centers
The 2025 report also highlighted the data center market. Madrid has 25 operators, 32 data centers, and 130 MW in operation, with about 17% of rack spaces available. Barcelona, still at an earlier stage, has 12 operators, 15 data centers, and 29 MW in operation, with expected growth driven by new connectivity and digital service expansion.
The document positions the Iberian Peninsula as an emerging hub. Spain has 872 MW of capacity across use, under construction, committed, and early phase projects, while Portugal has 637 MW. Together, the Iberian hub totals 1,509 MW—still behind the Benelux region’s 2,152 MW, but with significant growth potential, as much of Spain’s capacity remains in planning stages.
| Data Center Market Data from Cloud Nation 2025 | Detail |
|---|---|
| Madrid | 25 operators, 32 data centers, 130 MW in operation |
| Barcelona | 12 operators, 15 data centers, 29 MW in operation |
| Total capacity in Spain | 872 MW |
| Total capacity in Portugal | 637 MW |
| Península Ibérica hub | 1,509 MW |
| Benelux hub | 2,152 MW |
This context is key to understanding why Cloud Nation 2026 emphasizes sovereignty, cloud, and infrastructure. The rise of generative AI, private cloud proliferation, regulatory requirements, and data center expansion are fueling discussions that extend beyond IT departments to encompass executive leadership, finance, legal, security, operations, and business strategy.
The event on May 26 aims to structure this evolving conversation with updated data. The question is no longer whether Spanish companies will use the cloud, but what type, how much control they will retain, which providers they will choose, and how they will balance flexibility, compliance, costs, security, and sovereignty.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the Cloud Nation 2026 Observatory be presented?
The presentation will be on May 26th in Madrid, with in-person reception starting at 9:30 a.m., and the main session beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Where will the in-person event take place?
At Bulevard30, Gran Vía 30, 13th floor, Madrid. Attendance is limited and requires registration.
Will it be accessible online?
Yes. The event will be streamed via LinkedIn Live from 10:00 a.m., with open access for the LinkedIn community.
What topics will the Cloud Nation 2026 report cover?
It will analyze the state of cloud adoption in Spanish companies, focusing on data sovereignty, cloud strategy, barriers to adoption, connectivity, security, and the evolution of hybrid models.