Strict data protection laws boost interest in local data centers and hybrid clouds with lines of demarcation, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

A growing number of enterprises in France are looking to adopt sovereign clouds, which have been promoted across the E.U. for data protection but are the subject of an even bigger push under France’s tighter regulations, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services & Solutions report for France finds that sovereign clouds, designed to improve data security and transparency and better shield end-users’ data from the service providers hosting them, are expected to have far-reaching effects in France. Both public institutions and firms in industries the French government deems essential are expected to implement them, the report says.

“The rise of sovereign clouds could have a major effect on how data is stored, managed and transferred by French agencies and enterprises,” said Lyonel Roüast, partner and president, SEMEA, at ISG. “Service providers operating in France are now partnering with other providers to protect the sovereignty of their clients’ data.”

In particular, sovereign clouds may reshape the relationship between data centers owned or outsourced by a public institution — or a company involved in critical infrastructure — and another data center owned or outsourced by a company that has fewer security restrictions, ISG says.

While the need for sovereign clouds may be an ideal reason for providers in France to host critical data, this comes with other challenges, because much of the European hyperscaler infrastructure is owned by non-European companies such as AWS, Google and Microsoft. Several French providers have partnered with these hyperscalers to build out their sovereign cloud offerings, the report says.

Sovereign clouds will help to drive another major trend in France, in which more organizations are adopting hybrid, multi-cloud environments, ISG says. Those that need a sovereign cloud will store some data in local data centers to comply with French regulations and draw digital lines of demarcation inside their multi-cloud environments.

Sustainability is another factor driving the cloud strategies of French enterprises, as many prefer to outsource their data centers to providers that use renewable energy and are committed to carbon neutrality, ISG says. Like sovereign clouds, this trend favors French providers that understand local standards and renewable energy sources.

The report also examines other private and hybrid cloud trends in France, including diversification of colocation centers beyond Paris and the growth of edge computing with French government support.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Solutions & Services report for France evaluates the capabilities of 43 providers across four quadrants: Managed Services for Large Accounts, Managed Services for Midmarket, Managed Hosting, and Colocation Services.

The report names Accenture, Atos, Kyndryl and Sopra Steria as Leaders in two quadrants each. It names Capgemini, Cloudreach, Equinix, Infosys, Interxion (Digital Realty), Orange Business Services, OVHCloud and TCS as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Scaleway and Sopra Steria are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens™ Next-Gen Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Solutions & Services report for France is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

Press: Lucy Hermann-Taylor, ISG +33 06 76 01 35 48 lucy.hermann-taylor@isg-one.com

Morgane Meyer, AxiCom for ISG +33 06 89 24 44 08 morgane.meyer@axicom.com

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