A1 Digital expands sovereign cloud offering to Spain

• A1’s enterprise arm will launch cloud and IoT services in Spain
• The company is pitching a cloud platform as sovereign alternative to US hyperscalers
• A1 has eyes on future Latam expansion

A1 Digital, the enterprise division of Telekom Austria, has expanded its cloud and internet of things (IoT) services to Spain, unveiling plans to build its own sovereign cloud infrastructure in the country.

The company is focusing on two key business areas as part of its Spanish plans. Firstly, it will launch its European infrastructure-as-a-service cloud platform, Exoscale, to offer Spanish businesses a European alternative to American cloud providers. Exoscale, which it first built in 2017, is “sovereign by design”, according to A1, with 100% of its infrastructure located inside of Europe and a technology stack based entirely on open source, with no dependency on third-party intellectual property.

A1 already has an office in Spain, along with a presence in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The move comes at a time when businesses are increasingly concerned about digital sovereignty, explained A1 Digital CEO Elisabetta Castiglioni.

“Digital sovereignty has reached the boardroom level. It’s about companies making informed and deliberate decisions about which data and intellectual property they want to control – and where. Our Exoscale Cloud exists precisely for this reason – technically mature and regulatory compliant.”

A1 Digital will also launch its range of managed connectivity and IoT services, including industrial facilities, fleet management, smart metering and other industry-tailored solutions across the energy, transportation and healthcare sectors.

Existing customers leveraging A1 Digital’s solutions include the public health departments of Frankfurt am Main and the state of Hesse, as well as the Trusted Healthcare initiative in partnership with Austria-headquartered Miranext and Capito.ai from Germany.

However, for A1, the Spanish launch is not just about gaining traction in Spain itself, though Castiglioni described the move as the “next logical step in our European expansion”, as the company also has eyes on a future expansion in Latin America.

“Spain is one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies and, at the same time, a natural gateway to Latin America,” she added. “We’re here to build something good: Through investments in local infrastructure, with our own team and with partners who share our vision of a digitally empowered, sovereign Europe.”

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV