The Dutch Ministry of Defence has signed an agreement with SAP for a sovereign cloud environment based on SAP Sovereign Cloud. The environment must be up and running from 1 January 2028.
SAP and the Dutch Ministry of Defence have signed a strategic agreement for the development and management of a sovereign cloud environment in the Netherlands, based on SAP Sovereign Cloud. The environment will be set up according to Defence’s specific security and sovereignty requirements. SAP will take care of maintenance, updates and key parts of the technical management. Martin Merz, President SAP Sovereign Cloud, calls the agreement “a milestone for sovereign cloud technology within the European defence sector”.
Multicloud strategy
SAP Sovereign Cloud will become part of Defence’s broader multicloud strategy. In it, the ministry combines different cloud environments, depending on the security and operational requirements of each application. These include sovereign cloud environments, private clouds and environments for highly classified information.
By spreading its cloud infrastructure across those environments, Defence wants to become less dependent on individual technologies and vendors. The ministry also wants to be better able to maintain and restore critical services during disruptions, including cyberattacks.
The Netherlands seems to be putting sovereignty ever higher on the agenda. The country is currently also working on a Digitaal Autonome Werkomgeving Overheid (DAWO), or Digitally Autonomous Government Workplace, a set of sovereign software packages that must remove the dependence on Microsoft, Windows and Office.
Derk Boswijk (CDA), Dutch State Secretary for Defence, sees the agreement as a step in Defence’s digital transformation “to strengthen military capabilities”. He points out that Defence can take its data with it. “Defence retains control over its own data and can move it to another cloud environment if desired. This gives Defence the flexibility to respond to changing technological and operational circumstances.”
Operational in 2028
Bart Van der Biest, Managing Director of SAP Benelux, extends the notion of sovereignty to who works on the systems. “A sovereign cloud is not only about where data is stored, but also about who has access to systems and who carries out the technical management. Those choices must still rest with Defence in five or ten years, regardless of how technology or geopolitical relations change.”
The sovereign cloud environment must be operational on 1 January 2028. The agreement leaves room to expand the capabilities as Defence’s technological and operational needs change. According to SAP, it can also serve as a starting point for other Dutch government organisations that want to modernise their critical services and have similar requirements for security and digital sovereignty.