In Europe, the power of large data sets rests with a remarkably small group of companies. Together Amazon, Microsoft, Google and IBM control more than three-quarters of the regional market for public cloud computing. A European champion is long overdue. But big ambition is required.
Private equity has stepped in to help. With venture backing from listed PE firm EQT, Sweden’s evroc wants to rise to the challenge. The start-up plans to build two hyperscale data centres at a total cost of €3bn over the next few years. It so far has seed investment only in the millions.
Blame data oversight. EU General Data Protection Regulation forces reliance on storage or private cloud services to comply by collecting and storing plenty of bits. Demand for cloud services growing at about a fifth annually highlights the opportunity. Companies can buy their own cloud network (private) or rent a public service from a provider.