The process of migration of IT infrastructure towards distributed cloud environments and the use of global platforms managed by foreign companies has brought out the issue of data localization, to the point of pushing the European Union to define specific initiatives on data sovereignty. The indication is very simple: the data of European citizens and companies, and those deriving from their processing, must remain in physical infrastructures residing in the Old Continent to guarantee maximum protection.
In response to these indications, the suppliers of cloud environments have done their utmost to create the so-called cloud regions, i.e. data centers ready to host the technological infrastructures of companies and institutions physically located in Europe. But, of all the cloud vendors, Oracle is the only one that is proving to have an even more restrictive approach.
Indeed, the news of these days is the inauguration of the EU Sovereign Cloud, a structure made up of two data centres, one in Frankfurt and one in Madrid. The difference compared to the other Oracle cloud regions present in Europe – 44 in 23 countries including Italy and 7 in anticipation – lies right in the name. The two new Oracle cloud regions have been created with the aim of expressly thinking about data sovereignty and control, thanks to some interesting distinctive elements compared to the competition.
What is Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud
Oracle’s EU Sovereign Cloud is located within the EU, is supported by staff based in Europe and managed by legal entities independent of US corporate within the European Union, the official communication reads: “These are structures that can only communicate with each other through a dedicated network and are totally independent from our other commercial cloud regions – he adds Andrea Sinopoli, VicePresident e Technology Cloud Country Leader di Oracle Italia. The customer will be able to choose where he wants to position his services between Frankfurt and Madrid, because the two structures are to be thought of as a single entity. Possibly, it is also possible to provide for a redundancy of the customer’s architecture with a view to disaster recovery, and each of the two regions – connected to each other and isolated from the others – has three “fault domains”.
The incommunicability with the other Oracle cloud regions, together with the presence of European personnel and the management by a European legal entity are the true distinctive characteristics of the EU Sovereign Cloud: in this way it is clear that the management of data of citizens and European companies takes place entirely on our continent.
“Oracle’s Cloud Approach – continues the manager – once again it clearly stands out from its competitors. Having arrived at the cloud transition of our business slightly after other hyperscalers has allowed us to learn from previous experiences and to provide the perfect offer for private companies and public administrations, as well as fully meeting all the data protection requirements required by the ‘European Union”.
Andrea Sinopoli, Vice President and Technology Cloud Country Leader of Oracle Italy
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) has it all. The 44 cloud regions present in 23 countries are divided between Commercial – cloud structures accessible to anyone – Government and Sovereign, and the latter draw precisely from the experience of Government, created in the United States and Great Britain with stringent characteristics designed specifically for institutions governmental.
“The EU Sovereign Cloud, however – continues Sinopoli – it is not designed exclusively for government entities, even if it is clear that they meet all the requirements required by the compliance of central and local institutions. Precisely because it is “closed” and respectful of compliance, Oracle’s new structure is also perfect for companies in other sectors in which data has enormous business value (think, for example, of IP and patents), such as Pharma , the financial sectors, telecommunications, manufacturing, for example”.
Oracle cloud supplier of the Italian PA
Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud provides customers with exactly the same opportunities and capabilities as other Oracle cloud regions, at the same price and with the same guaranteed level (SLA) on more than 100 cloud services available. Services which, it should be remembered, can also be provided by local partners thanks to the Oracle Alloy initiative. In practice, the vendor makes its entire cloud services architecture available to partners who own a data center. And, after all, this too is a way to guarantee the sovereignty of the data of companies and citizens.
“In truth, in Italy Oracle has long been engaged in dialogue with the Public Administration on the so-called sovereign cloud – remembers Sinopoli -. We have been working on this issue for some time, also with Polo Strategico Nazionale, the company owned by TIM, Leonardo, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Sogei, whose mission is the creation and management of a technologically innovative and independent national cloud infrastructure , to guarantee the security of data and applications of the Italian Public Administration. The PSN infrastructure was activated as early as last December and the Public Cloud PSN Managed solution with Oracle will soon be operational, capable of managing strategic and critical data through the Oracle Dedicated Region Cloud at Customer declination, a cloud solution managed in this case from a National Strategic Pole within its own data centres”. On the other hand, Oracle is a historical primary supplier of the Public Administration, in Italy and abroad, in particular as regards data management, with a very significant turnover.
“Ultimately, we are certain that the initiatives introduced by Oracle Italia – conclude il manager – they will be able to contribute to helping the country system to climb the European ranking of digitized countries, bridging the technological gap. Migration to cloud environments in which to provide IaaS, PaaS or SaaS structures – the different types of service delivery and technological architectures – is the only way to modernize our PA and provide our companies with the necessary strength to compete in Europe and in the world, respecting all the data protection constraints required by the European Union”.