BT International and STACKIT partner to expand reach and resilience of European sovereign cloud access

• Integration of BT International’s resilient global network and STACKIT’s sovereign cloud will help multinational customers operating in the EU meet sovereignty regulations and boost resilience.
• For the first time, private peering will enable multinational customers to compliantly access STACKIT’s sovereign cloud from outside the EU.

BT International, a global leader in international secure multi-cloud connectivity, and STACKIT, the cloud provider of Schwarz Digits, have today announced a partnership to help multinational customers operating in the EU comply with regulations, enhance their operational resilience and achieve the best applications performance.

Initially, BT will provide internet connectivity (peering) from its existing global network into STACKIT’s EU-based sovereign cloud. Later, this will be complemented with the option of private connectivity. In future, both private and internet connectivity will be delivered by BT’s new Global Fabric network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform. This will enable on-demand, flexible and resilient connectivity to STACKIT and other cloud services.

For the first time, STACKIT’s private sovereign cloud will be accessible to organisations operating outside the EU via a private sovereign connection rather than public internet links.

This breakthrough offers EU-based multinationals with global operations greater flexibility and control over where their data and applications are hosted and who can access them — ensuring compliance while unlocking greater business value.

Multinationals headquartered outside the EU but conducting business within the jurisdiction will also benefit. They can now build resilient, sovereign IT infrastructures to support their European operations, with compliant access to critical data and applications in line with regulations.

STACKIT’s high-performance data centres, located exclusively in Europe, operate under stringent security protocols and are fully GDPR-compliant. This ensures that customers within the EU retain complete control over their data. STACKIT also provides robust recovery capabilities, safeguarding customers against outages caused by external events such as natural disasters.

Global Fabric connectivity will offer customers using STACKIT on-demand access to a full suite of secure, stable, scalable and sovereign multi-cloud networking services. It includes pre-integrated connectivity to the world’s leading cloud platforms, SaaS providers, security services, and other digital solutions.

According to the latest McKinsey Economic Conditions Outlook, executives say geopolitical instability “overshadows all other perceived economic risks” with 72 per cent of respondents to its February 2026 survey citing it as one of the biggest global economic risks, up sharply from 51 percent in December 2025.

Global Fabric supports sovereignty and resilience by giving customers full control over how their workloads and data traverse the network. By accessing STACKIT via Global Fabric, customers will be able to ensure their data remains within EU borders — even as it moves between clouds and users.

Ghoutam Banerjee, director partner ecosystem & growth, STACKIT, said: “Through our partnership with BT, we are creating a groundbreaking connection for digital sovereignty. Together, we are enabling multinational corporations to access our sovereign STACKIT Cloud directly from locations outside the EU via a private sovereign connection. This integration not only strengthens our customers' operational resilience but also guarantees full compliance with European data protection standards, while ensuring that data remains securely within EU borders.”

Joris van Oers, chief commercial officer at BT International, said: “Sovereignty is top of mind for our customers — data sovereignty and both operational and technical sovereignty too. CIOs want resilient networks and IT systems to keep their businesses running, regardless of trade policy changes, global outages or natural disasters. We’re partnering with STACKIT to provide customers operating in Europe with trusted access to sovereign and resilient cloud services. It’s a powerful example of why BT is the global leader in secure multi-cloud connectivity.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Sovereignty

Data sovereignty ensures data is governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which it was generated, with clarity over where it is stored and processed. Operational sovereignty relates to how services are run, including who operates them, from where, and under what governance and accreditation. Technical sovereignty is about long term control and resilience, including the ability to operate, adapt and remain secure without undue dependency.

Peering

Peering is a direct interconnection between service providers that enables faster, more reliable data exchange. Benefits include shorter routing paths, lower latency and reduced congestion resulting in improved application performance. Without sufficient peering, users may experience slower speeds and degraded performance.

Global Fabric and peering

Global Fabric, BT’s new network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform, will offer peering with a wide range of service and solution providers used daily by multinational customers. This includes sovereign cloud providers like STACKIT, hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud, as well as cloud security services, content delivery networks, business applications, SD-WAN providers and conferencing platforms.

With a physical footprint spanning approximately 140 global locations — aligned with cloud nodes, content providers, IXPs, and ISPs — Global Fabric ensures optimal performance for public cloud usage and SaaS consumption.

Designed for resilience, Global Fabric includes at least two points-of-presence (PoPs) per metro area, ensuring uninterrupted service even in the event of a PoP failure. As businesses grow, Global Fabric’s peering capabilities scale to meet evolving traffic demands, optimising routing paths for peak performance.

Shorter routing paths and lower latency enable seamless delivery of bandwidth-intensive applications such as video conferencing, cloud services, and data analytics. Direct peering also reduces reliance on costly upstream providers, offering competitive pricing for B2B customers.

Network-as-a-service (Naas)

The ISG Provider Lens® custom report, Shaping the future of NaaS in Europe, offers an analyst‑authored view of how NaaS is evolving across Europe. It outlines how organisations are modernising their networks through AI‑enabled, automated and consumption‑based models to support hybrid work, regulatory requirements — including sovereignty — and multi-cloud expansion.

The report can be downloaded from BT’s website at the following link: https://business.bt.com/insights/isg-shaping-future-naas-report/.

According to Dr. Kenn D Walters, ISG analyst and author of the report, “BT’s Global Fabric is a continuously evolving advanced NaaS solution with effective consumption options”.

About STACKIT

STACKIT is the cloud provider of Schwarz Digits. External partners and customers in Europe can rely on the cloud services that companies of Schwarz Group have been benefiting from for years for their digital transformation. On the way to becoming the first European hyperscaler, STACKIT offers digital sovereignty that goes far beyond the market standard and individual approaches to the implementation and operation of cloud solutions. STACKIT currently operates four data centers – one of which is in Austria – and is building a fifth in Lübbenau. Based in Neckarsulm, Germany, the team is paving the way for an independent Europe – digital, leading. As part of Schwarz Digits, STACKIT GmbH & Co. KG is part of the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group.