According to TheRegister.com, IONOS is making major strides in European cloud sovereignty with 18 datacenters across the EU and partnerships like the one with German IT service provider Dataport. Their dPhoenixSuite solution, hosted exclusively on IONOS Cloud, serves tens of thousands of concurrent users in public administration while guaranteeing complete data control under European jurisdiction. A February 2025 Bitkom study reveals that 86% of surveyed companies prefer European AI infrastructure, driven by GDPR requirements and concerns about third-country providers. IONOS claims their pricing is up to 50% cheaper than US hyperscalers without hidden costs, while meeting standards like the EU AI Act and NIS2 Directive that many US platforms can’t legally satisfy.
Sponsored content — provided for informational and promotional purposes.
The sovereignty advantage
Here’s the thing about cloud infrastructure in Europe right now: it’s becoming a political and legal battleground. And European providers like IONOS are actually winning this fight in the public sector. When you’ve got six German federal states moving their entire workplace solution to a European cloud, that’s not just a technical decision – it’s a strategic one.
Basically, US hyperscalers are running into a wall of European regulations that they either can’t or won’t comply with. The EU AI Act, NIS2, data residency rules – it’s creating this perfect storm where “sovereign” isn’t just a buzzword anymore. It’s becoming a hard requirement for doing business with public institutions.
The surprising price angle
Now, the 50% cheaper claim really caught my attention. We’re used to hearing about European providers being more expensive due to stricter regulations and higher operational costs. But if IONOS can actually deliver comparable services at half the price of AWS or Azure? That changes the entire conversation.
Think about it: public sector procurement teams are under constant pressure to justify spending. If they can point to both better compliance AND significant cost savings, the decision becomes almost automatic. And for regulated private companies watching this unfold? They’re probably asking the same question: why are we paying more for infrastructure that might not even be legally compliant in six months?
Where this is heading
That 86% preference for European AI infrastructure statistic is massive. It tells you that this isn’t just about government contracts anymore. Private companies are getting nervous about the geopolitical risks of depending on US or Chinese cloud providers.
What’s interesting is how IONOS is positioning this as a strategic partnership rather than just infrastructure rental. They’re selling digital responsibility, not just servers. And in today’s environment, that message resonates way beyond the public sector.
The real test will be whether they can scale this approach beyond Germany and a few specific use cases. But with their security API platform and growing compliance focus, they’re building a compelling alternative to the hyperscaler dominance we’ve seen for the past decade.
