Data sovereignty has shifted from an abstract debate to a matter of infrastructure, contracts, and latency. On this playing field, Colt Technology Services has announced that it has been named as one of the first connectivity partners for AWS European Sovereign Cloud, providing private connections Dedicated Cloud Access (DCA) to this new “independent” AWS cloud designed to meet strict sovereignty and compliance requirements across Europe.
The announcement, dated London, February 16, 2026, comes at a time when many European organizations are not only asking where their data is located but also how it travels, who can access it, and which jurisdiction could influence its processing. In this context, connectivity—often overlooked in favor of “cloud strategy”—is again taking center stage.
Why a “Connectivity Partner” Matters in a Sovereign Cloud
A sovereign cloud isn’t defined solely by the country where data centers are located or by contractual residence promises. In regulated environments, sovereignty is also a matter of the access route: if a critical application is accessed over the public Internet, the perimeter of exposure and the risk surface change.
Colt’s approach centers precisely on this aspect: its Dedicated Cloud Access provides a direct, private connection to AWS European Sovereign Cloud, avoiding transit over the public Internet. Practically, this often means lower latency, more stable performance, and better security control in transit, especially for sensitive workloads (public services, finance, healthcare, industry, and supply chains).
Peter Coppens, Colt’s Vice President of Product, summarized it well for 2026: companies are “facing a tangled web of complexity” between regulatory compliance, security, and data protection, and access to sovereign clouds should be “simple and flexible,” not an additional layer of friction.
AWS European Sovereign Cloud: A Commitment for Extreme Requirements
AWS introduced its European Sovereign Cloud as a cloud built for European sovereignty needs, with technical controls and guarantees tailored for governments and enterprises demanding an extra level of operational autonomy and resilience. Meanwhile, the sovereignty narrative in Europe has accelerated due to regulatory pressures—such as the GDPR and EU Data Act—and a geopolitical climate prompting many boards to reassess dependencies on strategic technologies.
In this environment, AWS’s move is seen as an effort to address a recurring concern in the market: the uncertainty about what laws apply and what access can be demanded for data managed by major providers. International coverage has highlighted that AWS seeks to respond to this European sensitivity with a specifically designed offering for the continent.
The Driving Numbers: 84%, 70%, and the 63% Barrier
Beyond rhetoric, numbers help explain why this issue is on the agenda of CIOs, CISOs, and compliance officers.
Colt points to two clear signals: first, a study ranking data sovereignty as a strategic priority for 84% of surveyed European companies; second, a finding that this concern has intensified over the past one or two years for 70%. Additionally, a study indicates that 63% consider data sovereignty the biggest barrier to migrating to the cloud.
These figures—84% and 70%—also appear in a quantitative survey by BARC (commissioned by Exasol along with partners like A1 Digital and Dataciders), based on 295 participants in April 2025. The increased relevance is attributed to a mix of regulatory demands and geopolitical tensions. The survey adds important nuances: 46% of respondents identify risks linked to inconsistencies in US legislation, and 40% see dependence on public cloud providers as critical. The corporate response, according to this survey, is a shift toward hybrid and multi-cloud strategies: 51% already combine public and private clouds to gain control over sensitive data, and 36% plan to rely more on regional or local providers.
In the DACH region, this trend is even stronger: 41% of companies plan to switch to European alternatives, a percentage higher than the international average cited in the study.
Connectivity as the “Silent Piece” of Sovereignty
In the technical debate, connectivity often conjures images of “Layer 3,” MPLS, fiber, and transit contracts. But in data sovereignty, this “silent layer” becomes a governance component: a private connection allows for segmenting, auditing, controlling routes, applying policies, and reducing dependence on unpredictable pathways.
Colt argues that its differential value in this scenario lies in a set of capabilities focused on control and coverage: experience connecting both hyperscalers and sovereign platforms, “full-stack ownership” (fiber, solutions, orchestration, and service delivery), a European footprint of fiber PoPs and cloud points, and local presence with sales and operations teams in country. Essentially, the message is that a sovereign cloud requires more than just a self-service portal: it needs a coherent digital supply chain, from corporate endpoints to the cloud provider’s points of presence.
What Companies Should Focus on in 2026: Beyond “Sovereign” Marketing
For teams considering migrating regulated workloads to a sovereign cloud, the discussion quickly boils down to a checklist mixing legal, technological, and operational factors:
- Data Residency and Control: location, encryption, key management, access policies, and auditing.
- Operational Autonomy: who operates the platform, how support is managed, external dependencies.
- Connectivity: whether access is via the public Internet or private links; expected latency and jitter; transit controls.
- Hybrid Strategy: what stays on-premises, what goes to private cloud, what is outsourced, and how interoperability is managed.
- Exit Strategy: portability, contracts, managed service dependencies, and reversibility costs.
The BARC survey suggests that the market is already moving in this direction: hybrid and multi-cloud as ways to regain sovereignty “piece by piece,” avoiding dependencies that are difficult to reverse.
In this context, Colt’s role as a connectivity partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud appears as another piece: transforming data sovereignty from a declarative ideal into an operational reality. Because if 2026 has shown us anything, it’s that sovereignty is no longer measured solely by legal clauses—it’s about routes, latencies, controls, and actual execution capacity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Dedicated Cloud Access (DCA) and how does it serve AWS European Sovereign Cloud?
DCA is a private connectivity model linking corporate network to the sovereign cloud without traversing the public Internet, enhancing performance, latency, and transit security control.
Why does data sovereignty slow cloud adoption in regulated sectors?
Because it requires ensuring data residency, access, auditability, and applicable jurisdiction. Industry studies indicate that sovereignty concerns remain a significant barrier to cloud migration in Europe.
What strategy best reduces dependency on a single cloud provider?
A hybrid and multi-cloud approach, combining public cloud, private cloud, and, when applicable, European or sovereign providers for critical data, with clear asset classification and governance.
What should CISOs demand when evaluating private connectivity to a sovereign cloud?
Traffic isolation, segmentation policies, audit capabilities, SLA commitments for latency and availability, redundancy options, and clarity about points of presence and local operations.
via: colt.net