- Concluded at the MSC, the partnership stands for a clear claim: core digital systems must be operated under European legal and governance frameworks.
- Guests at the signing ceremony included former Vice-Chancellor Joschka Fischer, French Delegate Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad and French Ambassador to Germany François Delattre.
Munich/Hamburg, 18 February 2026 – With the partnership concluded at the Munich Security Conference, Sopra Steria and SAP are setting a strategic marker: Europe is strengthening the governance and control of its core digital systems. At the heart of this is the SAP Sovereign Cloud – designed for areas where data processing, operational responsibility and legal jurisdiction have become a matter of security and regulatory policy, including defense, aerospace, public administration and critical infrastructure.
"Europe's market leaders SAP and Sopra Steria are taking digital sovereignty into their own hands. After all, it determines the ability of governments and businesses to act,” said Frédéric Munch, CEO of Sopra Steria Germany and Austria. “The partnership between Sopra Steria and SAP creates a cloud environment in which business-critical systems can be operated without compromising European security principles."
"In a challenging geopolitical situation, digital sovereignty is becoming a prerequisite for the ability of governments and organizations to act. Partnerships between Europe's leading technology companies are an indispensable foundation for digital sovereignty. That is why we are combining the strengths of Sopra Steria and SAP to advance innovative, sovereign cloud technology in Europe. By extending our existing collaboration to the area of sovereignty, both companies are making a fundamental contribution to Europe's competitiveness and resilience," said Martin Merz, President of SAP Sovereign Cloud.
The partnership is a response to a development that can no longer be ignored. Large parts of the European economy and administration continue to operate business- and security-critical SAP systems outside the cloud because existing offerings do not meet the requirements for data sovereignty, compliance and government control. At the same time, regulatory and security requirements for digital systems are increasing significantly. More and more organizations are faced with the task of repositioning their digital resilience and creating clear legal and operational frameworks for business- and security-critical processes.
SAP Sovereign Cloud provides a robust European option for this. SAP is investing €20 billion in the development of sovereign cloud and AI solutions. As a strategic partner, Sopra Steria is responsible for implementation in highly sensitive environments, including security-classified areas that are only accessible to a very limited group of providers. The goal is not speed at any price, but control, reliability and institutional connectivity.
“Now is the moment for Europe to deliver,” emphasized Joschka Fischer, former German Foreign Minister and Vice-Chancellor, at the signing ceremony. “Two major companies are deciding to work together to shape Europe's future. We need more projects like this in view of the technological challenges we face.”
Beyond the operation of business-critical systems, the partnership lays the foundation for sovereign European AI applications. SAP Sovereign Cloud enables the use of AI applications to run on a trusted infrastructure that is compliant, controllable and under clearly defined European legal and jurisdictional framework.
Benjamin Haddad, French Minister Delegate for Europe, emphasized the strategic importance: “Europe is at a historic juncture in terms of the global political situation. We must invest in joint projects that advance technologies such as the sovereign cloud. Let us support our European champions. The partnership between Sopra Steria and SAP is an important milestone on the road to a sovereign European cloud solution.”