In 1999, a Polish student in Lille borrowed 25,000 francs from his family to launch a small web hosting project. There were no investment rounds, no pitch decks, and no large law firms involved—just a computer, many online forums, and the determination that hosting could be done better. That student was named Octave Klaba. Today, his company, OVHcloud, exceeds €1 billion in annual revenue and has become one of the leading pioneers of European sovereign cloud computing.
From “Oles Van Herman” to OVHcloud
Before becoming a founder, Octave was simply an active user on forums of the time, signing off as “Oles Van Herman.” These initials later became the acronym that named the company: OVH.
Klaba’s personal story also helps explain part of the company’s DNA. Born in Poland in the 70s, his family fled communism and settled in France. Octave arrived without speaking French, studied engineering in Lille, and like many entrepreneurs, started tinkering with servers because nothing available on the market met his standards.
OVHcloud originated as a deeply family-oriented business:
- Octave launched the project and led the technical vision.
- His father designed one of the earliest liquid cooling systems for servers of its time.
- His mother managed the finances.
- His brother focused on R&D.
To this day, the Klaba family continues to control the group, which is publicly traded but maintains a governance style strongly shaped by its familial and industrial roots.
A manufacturing facility, not just a data center
Unlike many cloud providers that assemble components from various manufacturers, OVHcloud has dedicated over two decades to vertical integration.
In Roubaix, northern France, the model is almost educational:
- In a single facility, chassis, racks, and cooling systems are manufactured.
- Just minutes later, these same units are deployed in nearby data centers.
This “short loop” between design, manufacturing, and operation allows OVHcloud to:
- Optimize costs and margins by controlling nearly the entire value chain.
- Innovate faster in areas like energy efficiency, server density, and cooling technologies.
- Customize hardware to meet the real needs of clients without relying on third parties.
In a world dominated by U.S. hyperscalers, this approach—regarding cloud as a physical industry, not just “software in the cloud”—has become a significant competitive advantage that’s very difficult to replicate.
The ultimate test: Strasbourg data center fire
In 2021, OVHcloud faced one of its most challenging episodes: a major fire destroyed a data center in Strasbourg and damaged other buildings on the campus. Some clients experienced irreplaceable data loss, and the company’s reputation was seriously impacted.
Such incidents are often fatal for many companies. OVHcloud responded differently:
- It openly communicated about the situation, even when messages were uncomfortable.
- It accelerated development of backup, high-availability, and disaster recovery features.
- It reinforced resilience through design and operational process improvements.
- It went public in the same year, sending a clear message that its long-term project was resilient and sustainable.
Far from collapsing, the company continued to grow, surpassing €1 billion in annual revenue, establishing itself as a key competitor to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
European champion of sovereign cloud
In recent years, the discourse around digital sovereignty and “trusted cloud” has shifted from niche discussions to top political and business priorities across Europe. Against this backdrop, OVHcloud has positioned itself as:
- A European provider with headquarters, data centers, and strategic decisions rooted in Europe.
- A sovereign alternative to providers subject to extracommunity legislation like the US CLOUD Act.
- An industrial partner for governments, enterprises, and operators that need control over where their data resides and under what jurisdiction.
The company has invested in certifications, alliances, and sovereignty-specific solutions while strengthening its global infrastructure with data centers across multiple continents. But its core message remains clear: you can build a global cloud without abandoning European roots or an industrial model of your own.
Industry, immigration, and determination
OVHcloud’s story echoes themes relevant to today’s European tech ecosystem:
- An immigrant founder arriving without speaking the language and ultimately building a continental champion.
- A family business growing without following the typical “hypergrowth” manual funded by venture capital.
- A manufacturing facility in Roubaix transforming metal, water, and electricity into computing and storage capacity.
- A public company surpassing €1 billion in annual revenue, committed to a “very human, very local” cloud.
As debates around digital sovereignty, chips, AI, and technological dependency intensify in Europe, OVHcloud’s case demonstrates that competing with the giants through a different model—more industrial, transparent, and rooted in local territory—is possible.
It all started with €25,000 borrowed from family and an online forum alias.
via: LinkedIN