Cloud computing in the Digital Decade: Building Europe’s digital future
Making public data accessible through secure and scalable cloud systems
Cloud computing is the delivery of digital services, such as data storage, processing and software, over the internet rather than through local servers or personal devices. It allows users to access powerful computing resources on demand, enabling faster innovation, better scalability and more efficient data management.
As part of the Digital Decade strategy, the European Commission is working to create a secure, sustainable and competitive cloud ecosystem. This includes shifting from centralised data centres to edge computing, where data is processed closer to the user, improving speed, privacy and energy efficiency. By 2030, the EU aims to deploy 10 000 climate-neutral edge nodes and ensure that 75% of European businesses adopt cloud-edge technologies. Supporting initiatives include the Cloud and AI Development Act, the EU Cloud Services Certification, and the SIMPL open-source middleware platform.
While open data refers to public datasets that are freely available to everyone, cloud infrastructure provides the tools and space to store, access and analyse that data efficiently. Instead of downloading files or relying on local systems, users can work with open data directly in the cloud. The European Commission’s investment in secure and interoperable cloud systems ensures that open data is not only accessible, but also protected, reliable and ready to power innovation across Europe.
To learn more about the EU’s cloud computing strategy and how it supports Europe’s digital transformation, visit the official policy page. For access to thousands of open datasets and tools, explore European Data Portal.
For more news and events, follow us on X/Twitter and LinkedIn, or subscribe to our newsletter. You can also connect with other users through our collaboration channel.