{"id":169,"date":"2025-05-26T16:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/us\/2025\/05\/26\/upcloud-connect-shaping-europes-cloud-future\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T16:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T13:11:00","slug":"upcloud-connect-shaping-europes-cloud-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/blog\/upcloud-connect-shaping-europes-cloud-future\/","title":{"rendered":"UpCloud Connect: Shaping Europe\u2019s Cloud Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Europe faces increasing pressure to define its own digital future, there\u2019s a growing urgency to build a strong, independent cloud force that can stand as a viable alternative to U.S. hyperscalers. This isn\u2019t just about infrastructure \u2014 it\u2019s about data sovereignty, data protection, transparency, and ensuring that European innovation drives significant growth on the world stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWith American hyperscalers, the infrastructure might look technically sovereign, but ownership still matters \u2014 it\u2019s a company. For highly regulated businesses like ours serving customers that are critical to the society, data autonomy and location are essential. Political and commercial shifts can change the game overnight, so we need transparency, predictability, and a more controlled way to run our services.\u201d <\/em><strong><em>&#8211; Jussi J\u00e4\u00e4skel\u00e4inen, Chief Architect ICT Products at Telia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At UpCloud, we believe the future of the European cloud lies in open source-driven innovation and infrastructure choices that respect national laws, local ownership, and regional trust. We\u2019re actively bringing leading European organizations together to shape the next phase of Europe\u2019s digital sovereignty through UpCloud Connect \u2013 a series of events laser focussed on European businesses striving to scale and grow securely in an increasingly uncertain world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UpCloud Connect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, we hosted <strong>UpCloud Connect<\/strong> in our Helsinki office, alongside strategic partners <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/elastisys.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elastisys<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pionative.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pionative<\/a><\/strong>, and valued customers <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teliacompany.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telia<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/taggrs.io\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TAGGRS<\/a><\/strong>, to explore the future of secure, scalable, and sovereign European cloud infrastructure. Together, we dived into collaborations that are fueling real-world success and long-term resilience \u2013 actively empowering end-users to grow securely in today\u2019s shifting geopolitical and regulatory landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWith shifting alliances in the EU, it\u2019s clearer than ever that we need a truly European cloud offering, and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re building together with UpCloud.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8211; <\/em><strong><em>Simon Ekman, VP of Sales at Elastisys<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what we learned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>From Clusters to Compliance: Pionative &amp; TAGGRS in Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our first panel opened with a dive into the origins of the partnership between UpCloud, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pionative.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pionative<\/a><\/strong>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/taggrs.io\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TAGGRS<\/strong>\u2014<\/a> highlighting&nbsp; how this collaborative ecosystem was built and what makes it thrive. From day one, the shared focus has been secure growth. We discussed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The initial challenges TAGGRS faced and how the partnership helped overcome them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How <a href=\"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/products\/managed-kubernetes\"><strong>UpCloud Kubernetes Service (UKS)<\/strong> <\/a>simplifies containerised deployments and has directly benefited TAGGRS\u2019 scalability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The importance of data sovereignty, proactive security, and regulatory compliance \u2014 and how European businesses like TAGGRS are navigating this complex landscape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cOur main customer base is Europe, where concerns around data sovereignty are growing\u2014especially in light of the U.S. Cloud Act and a potential second Trump administration. Larger companies are coming to us with more privacy centric demands about where their data lives. That\u2019s why we made the move to a European cloud. We\u2019re proud to be the first to offer this kind of solution as a truly European provider\u2014it\u2019s quickly becoming a must-have.\u201d<\/em> <strong><em>&#8211; Niels Olivier, CEO at TAGGRS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the demand for containerisation continues to rise, so does the need for infrastructure that can scale smoothly and securely. For Pionative, selecting a cloud partner wasn\u2019t just about ticking boxes\u2014it was about finding a provider with the technology and reliability to meet real-world demands at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>\u201cWhen we partnered with TAGGRS, we needed a solution that could support a serious scale\u201418,000 containers at the time\u2014and continue to grow with us. Today, that number has more than doubled, with 40,000 containers running across five Kubernetes clusters. Supporting this kind of scale requires more than just raw capacity; it demands reliable technology, responsive support, and flexibility. We evaluated several European providers, and UpCloud stood out as by far the most professional and best option.\u201d<\/em><strong><em> &#8211; Pieter van der Giessen, Co-Founder at Pionative<\/em><\/strong><br><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conversation also looked ahead: where containerisation is going, how UpCloud Kubernetes Service (<strong>UKS) <\/strong>continues to evolve, and how European organisations can stay resilient in uncertain times. As Hijmen Fokker, Co-Founder at Pionative, put it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWe&#8217;re really happy to see more European cloud providers pop up with Managed Kubernetes services. UpCloud&#8217;s Managed Kubernetes Service can handle a lot of load and we are very happy with the stability.\u201d &#8211; <\/em><strong><em>Hijmen Fokker, Co-Founder at Pionative<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Telia and Yet Another Cloud?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our second session, we were joined by <strong>Telia<\/strong> and <strong>Elastisys<\/strong> for a candid discussion on multicloud strategies, Kubernetes workflows, and the benefits of a sovereign cloud \u2014 including how <strong>Elastisys\u2019 Managed Welkin<\/strong> solution supports Telia in parallel with UpCloud infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cOur B2B applications at Telia don\u2019t fit into one single box, they need a mix of capabilities bridging Telco and IT workloads. UpCloud managed to meet all our demanding requirements. It\u2019s a great match, particularly for the solutions we deliver to our customers. We need infrastructure that\u2019s reliable, compliant, cost-effective &#8211; and simply works for our developers, so we can focus on the application layer, where we deliver the value to our customers.\u201d <\/em><strong><em>&#8211; Jussi J\u00e4\u00e4skel\u00e4inen, Chief Architect ICT Products.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Key points included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why multicloud isn\u2019t just about redundancy \u2014 it\u2019s about flexibility, control, and future-proofing your infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The growing momentum toward multicloud adoption with European flavors, especially in response to today\u2019s geopolitical pressures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How partnerships allow enterprise-scale organisations like Telia blend best-of-breed cloud capabilities while maintaining a strong stance on data sovereignty and other national requirements especially in regulated telco business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a Swedish company partnering with Finnish-based UpCloud, we\u2019re not subject to U.S. surveillance laws, which gives our customers peace of mind. Our managed services allow them to focus entirely on the application layer\u2014where they create real value\u2014while we ensure the infrastructure meets the needs of both developers and end users. We invest heavily in compliance documentation to help customers meet frameworks like NIS2, ISO 27001, and DORA.\u201d &#8211; <strong><em>Simon Ekman, VP of Sales at Elastisys<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ll be sharing more content soon, including session recordings and follow-up conversations.<br>Missed the event? Stay tuned on our channels for ways to join the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s keep shaping Europe\u2019s cloud future \u2014 together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Europe faces increasing pressure to define its own digital future, there\u2019s a growing urgency to build a strong, independent cloud force that can stand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":57162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"406,238,277,682,442,721","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Blocked by a filter function","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-and-events","category-data-sovereignty"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcloud.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}