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Microsoft strengthens sovereign cloud capabilities with new services

We’re thrilled to share that we’re continually refining our approach to sovereignty. We’re innovating to align with both customer expectations and regulatory demands within our Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud. Today, we’re rolling out a fresh suite of capabilities that enhance our digital sovereignty measures, all powered by our network of expert local partners.

Whether in Europe or beyond, organisations are dealing with a challenging blend of regulations, expectations for resilience, and ongoing technological innovation. For governments, public institutions, and businesses aiming to leverage the cloud’s full potential while keeping control over their data, sovereignty has become essential.

In June 2025, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a comprehensive range of solutions to address these needs with the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud. As part of our ongoing evolution, we’re pleased to announce exciting new capabilities that expand our digital sovereignty controls, designed to provide advanced AI and scalable solutions, all reinforced by our in-country partner network. Here’s what’s new:

  • End-to-end AI data processing located in Europe, in line with the EU Data Boundary.
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot now processes interactions in 15 countries. For more details, check the Microsoft 365 blog.
  • Expanded Sovereign Landing Zones service and disconnected operation support for Microsoft Azure Local.
  • General availability of Microsoft 365 Local.
  • Greater capacity for Azure Local, along with support for external SAN storage and the latest NVIDIA GPUs.
  • Launch of our partner Digital Sovereignty specialisation.

Continuous Innovation in Microsoft Sovereign Cloud

Our latest features encompass new digital sovereignty attributes, comprehensive security, and productivity enhancements, along with a host of future capabilities aimed at further satisfying our customers’ sovereign cloud requirements.

We understand the need for ongoing innovation and have commenced the implementation of numerous initiatives. This month, we’ve already achieved:

  • Established a board of directors comprised entirely of European nationals to oversee datacentre operations strictly in adherence to European regulations, ensuring European cloud infrastructure is managed by Europeans.
  • Increased capacity at European datacentres through our recent launches in Austria and an upcoming facility launch in Belgium this month.
  • Integrated our digital resilience promises into all relevant government contracts.
  • Enhanced our open-source investment through funding secure open-source software (OSS) projects and collaborations, as well as sharing AI Access Principles that widen safe and responsible access to advanced AI, empowering European developers, startups, and enterprises to compete effectively.
  • Progressed our European Security Program, which includes AI-driven intelligence and initiatives to enhance cybersecurity and digital resilience against cyber threats.

Introducing New Sovereign Public Cloud and AI Features

From the moment organisations start designing their sovereignty environments, they require comprehensive capabilities that embed compliance and control right from the outset.

AI Data Processing Within the EU Data Boundary

We are committed to delivering on our end-to-end AI data processing promise. This means that any data processed by AI services for EU clients remains securely within the EU Data Boundary, unless instructed otherwise by the customer.

All customer data, whether stored or in transit, will only be processed within the EU. Our strategy entails implementing strict controls and transparency measures to ensure compliance with EU customer expectations.

Expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot Data Processing to 15 Nations

Thanks to years of investment in our worldwide infrastructure and top-tier data residency capabilities, Microsoft is now prepared to provide in-country data processing for Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions across 15 nations globally.

By the close of 2025, customers in four countries—Australia, India, Japan, and the UK—will be able to process Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions within their borders. By 2026, we plan to extend this in-country data processing capability to customers in eleven additional countries including Canada, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, and the USA.

Introducing a New Sovereign Landing Zone (SLZ)

We’re excited to introduce our updated Sovereign Landing Zone (SLZ), built upon the established foundation of Azure Landing Zone (ALZ).

The Sovereign Landing Zone is the go-to platform for customers aiming to implement sovereign controls in the Azure public cloud as part of the Sovereign Public Cloud initiative.

This refresh of the Sovereign Landing Zone encompasses:

In the coming months, Azure Policy definitions, initiatives, and assignments built into the Sovereign Landing Zone will grow, enabling our customers to achieve sovereign controls more quickly and with less complexity.

By utilising Sovereign Landing Zones, organisations can adopt a clear architecture that speeds up compliance with regional sovereignty standards while simplifying policy management. This methodology also facilitates scaling workloads across Azure regions without compromising on regulatory alignment or operational consistency.

Introducing New Sovereign Private Cloud and AI Features

As organisations deepen their commitment to sovereignty, merging regulatory compliance with innovation becomes crucial. These new enhancements merge advanced AI capabilities with scalable infrastructure suitable for both public and private settings.

Supporting Numerous AI Models on Azure Local with NVIDIA RTX GPUs

With our enhancements to the Sovereign Private Cloud via Azure Local, we are rolling out a new solution featuring the latest NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPU, specially designed for high-performance AI tasks in sovereign contexts.

This powerful GPU can run over 1,000 AI models, including GPT OSS, DeepSeek-V3, Mistral NeMo, and Llama 4 Maverick, enabling organisations to fast-track their AI initiatives directly within a sovereign private cloud. This allows for experimentation, innovation, and the deployment of advanced AI solutions with enhanced performance—ensuring data protection and compliance throughout.

Furthermore, customers will have access to thousands of prebuilt and open-source AI models ready for a variety of applications—from generative AI to sophisticated analytics and real-time decision-making. This combined offering empowers businesses to innovate and implement cutting-edge AI solutions while maintaining governance at the forefront.

Scaling Azure Local to Support Hundreds of Servers

Previously, Azure Local was limited to single clusters of 16 physical servers. With our recent updates, we can now accommodate hundreds of servers, significantly enhancing capacity for organisations with growing sovereign private cloud demands. This upgrade empowers customers to tackle larger, more intricate workloads, scale their infrastructure seamlessly, and adapt to changing business requirements while complying with the security and sovereignty demanded by both European and global standards.

Introducing SAN Support on Azure Local

A significant advancement in the scale of our Sovereign Private Cloud is the addition of Storage Area Network (SAN) support for Azure Local. This update allows customers to securely connect their existing on-premises storage solutions from leading providers to Azure Local. This integration enables organisations to harness their trusted storage investments while also taking advantage of cloud-native services, ensuring data remains within their preferred jurisdiction. This is particularly beneficial for European firms looking to meet local data residency rules without sacrificing performance or control.

Microsoft 365 Local: General Availability of Key Workloads

A key milestone is the general availability of Microsoft 365 Local, which simplifies access to core productivity tools—such as Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Skype for Business Server—on Azure Local. Beginning in December, customers can launch these tools in a connected environment, with a fully isolated option slated for release in early 2026. This solution merges familiar collaborative tools with Azure Local’s unified management and consistent Azure services, allowing organisations to retain complete operational control while adhering to rigorous compliance and data residency standards.

General Availability of Disconnected Operations

Microsoft’s Sovereign Private Cloud extends sovereignty principles into dedicated environments for organisations with stringent compliance needs—enabled through Azure Local. This platform empowers government agencies, multinational corporations, and regulated entities to maintain local control while still reaping the benefits of Microsoft’s global cloud ecosystem.

As part of Azure Local, we’re soon launching general availability for disconnected operations, allowing customers to manage multiple Azure Local clusters through a unified local control plane. Set for release in early 2026, this feature enables private cloud environments to operate securely and independently on their own dedicated platforms, ensuring business continuity and operational resilience even in highly regulated scenarios.

Launching New Partner Digital Sovereignty Specialisation

We are delighted to announce the official introduction of the Digital Sovereignty specialisation as part of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. This new specialisation enables partners to showcase their expertise in delivering secure, compliant, and sovereign cloud solutions across Azure and Microsoft 365 platforms. By acquiring this designation, partners exemplify their capacity to meet rigorous data residency, privacy, and regulatory standards, aiding customers in maintaining control over their applications and data while fostering innovation. The specialisation incorporates strict audit criteria and offers advantages like enhanced visibility, special recognition, and priority access to sovereign cloud opportunities.

Looking Ahead: Enhancing Sovereignty with Enhanced Controls

Our roadmap for the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud is set to include more capabilities aimed at addressing evolving customer needs:

Sovereign Public Cloud

  • Data Guardian: This forthcoming feature will provide transparency regarding operational sovereignty controls in our European public cloud settings. All remote access by Microsoft technicians to systems storing and processing your data in Europe will be routed within the EU, monitored by an EU-based operator who can intervene as necessary. Moreover, records of all remote access will be kept in a tamper-proof log.

Sovereign Private Cloud

  • Enhanced Change Controls: We will introduce a series of configurable policies and approval workflows, granting organisations explicit oversight of any changes flowing from the cloud to the edge, further bolstering governance and compliance.
  • Site-to-Site Disaster Recovery: Azure Site Recovery for Azure Local will provide business continuity, ensuring that applications and workloads remain operational during outages.
  • Transition from Hybrid to Fully Disconnected: Azure Local will facilitate the movement of workloads from hybrid systems to fully disconnected operations, granting added flexibility in maintaining business continuity.

National Partner Clouds

National Partner Clouds are fundamental to Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud strategy. They deliver independently managed cloud environments that incorporate Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 capabilities under local ownership and oversight.

  • Delos Cloud is tailored to meet the German government’s BSI cloud platform standards.
  • Bleu is designed to fulfill the French government’s (ANSSI) SecNumCloud standards.

For public sector organisations, ERP is a vital workload necessitating modernisation for cloud integration. SAP is poised to implement its RISE with SAP solution on Microsoft Azure for both Bleu and Delos Cloud customers, while also supporting RISE with SAP for entities using Microsoft Azure’s public cloud.

Discover More About Microsoft’s Sovereign Solutions

Microsoft provides unmatched sovereign solutions, featuring a flexible public cloud environment, a scalable private cloud tailored to your needs, and national partner clouds that comply with specific regulations. Our continuous commitment to investment and innovation empowers our customers to achieve sovereignty without compromise.

Join us this November at Microsoft Ignite to explore what’s next in cloud innovation. Learn more and register today.

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