The Government has put out to tender the creation of a sovereign public cloud, a strategic data storage infrastructure located in Catalonia, intended to strengthen information protection and ensure compliance with European regulations. In a first phase, it will host 40% of the Generalitat's services and data.
This initiative is part of the Generalitat de Catalunya's Technological Autonomy Strategy (Estratec), the roadmap that the Executive Council will approve this Tuesday to reinforce digital sovereignty, reduce dependence on external technology providers, and increase control over public data and infrastructures.
In statements to the media, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, has advocated for the commitment to gain digital sovereignty and for European technology: "We believe in data protection based on the parameters of European jurisdiction. That is why it is important that the data of the citizens of Catalonia are on European soil, specifically on Catalan soil."
The sovereign 'cloud' will be integrated with Catalonia's other public connectivity infrastructures and will operate exclusively under the European regulatory framework, which will ensure information protection, service traceability, and compliance with current regulatory requirements.
Once operational, the awarded company will offer the infrastructure to both administrations and private entities. Its deployment is expected to favor the development of data and computing projects in a secure environment, with the guarantee that the information will remain in European territory and under exclusively European jurisdiction.
According to the Generalitat, this model will accelerate digital transformation and the development of advanced solutions in sectors such as health, security, and other services that handle critical data, both in the public and private spheres. Furthermore, it will provide greater agility in launching new services or adjusting capacity during peak demand, and will facilitate the creation of high-value-added digital solutions for citizens.
The project is being articulated alongside the bid for the European AI gigafactory in Móra la Nova (Tarragona), also included in Estratec, which will provide the specialized computing capacity necessary to drive and apply artificial intelligence solutions.
In this context, Dalmau has expressed his confidence that the private sector will join the Govern's strategy and, at the same time, support the commitment to the gigafactory for the coming years.
Cloud Modalities and Service Distribution
The new sovereign public cloud will be added to the public and private cloud modalities already available in Catalonia, bringing a sovereign public cloud option to the market within a hybrid ecosystem that aims to provide "greater security, efficiency, and adaptability depending on the type of applications and data."
Within a two-year horizon, the Generalitat plans to evolve towards a service distribution where 40% will be located in the sovereign public cloud, 30% in a commercial public cloud—which currently accounts for 20%—and the remaining 30% in a private cloud, reserved primarily for systems with higher security or operational control needs—which now accounts for 80%—.
The forecast is that the share of the sovereign public cloud will increase progressively according to innovation needs, thus reinforcing the overall resilience of services, avoiding dependence on a single technological environment, and allowing for dynamic adaptation of system locations when necessary.
Investment and Tender Conditions
The tender is structured through a framework agreement for the provision of sovereign cloud services for the Generalitat and its public sector, with a single provider. It includes both the supply of infrastructure and cloud services, as well as the necessary support services to facilitate the implementation and evolution of digital solutions in this environment.
The agreement will have an initial duration of 8 years—with the intention of extending it later—and the estimated value of the contract amounts to 481 million euros, the most significant investment in digital infrastructure in recent years. The forecast is that the sovereign public cloud will become operational in the second half of 2027.
The tender incorporates the guidelines of the European Cloud Sovereignty Framework and requires the highest level of digital sovereignty currently certifiable (Seal3), which guarantees that data remains under European control and that the service can continue to operate autonomously in the event of eventual third-party dependencies or external interruptions.
Likewise, it is established that the service provider will be subject exclusively to European legislation and must comply with all related European regulations that are approved after the award, including future updates, modifications, or new applicable provisions.
Estratec: roadmap for technological autonomy
Estratec defines a transversal framework of action to strengthen control over digital assets and reduce external technological dependencies. Furthermore, it coordinates ongoing initiatives, such as the deployment of the public fiber optic network, the data center strategy, or the promotion of quantum technologies, under common objectives of achieving maximum technological strategic autonomy.
The strategy addresses the entire public technological ecosystem, from connectivity to computing, platforms, and applications, and sets goals to strengthen the resilience of public services, develop own capabilities, and align with the European regulatory and strategic framework for digital sovereignty.
It includes about twenty measures, among them diagnostic and analysis actions to detect technological dependencies and strengthen internal capabilities; the development of a comprehensive supplier map; the study of project governance, the identification of technological talent, and the inventory of digital infrastructures and available resources.
It also includes actions to increase the resilience of public digital services, such as the deployment of continuity protocols for critical services, the integration of the public sector into corporate ICT and cybersecurity models, and the implementation of standards in strategic areas such as AI.
The plan also foresees the promotion of own technological infrastructures and capabilities, covering ongoing projects such as the development of data processing centers, the European gigafactory, the public fiber optic network, or the Quantum Ring of Barcelona, as well as the activation of initiatives in advanced technologies, both own and in collaboration with universities, research centers, and the innovative ecosystem.
Finally, measures for regulatory development and governance are collected, such as the creation of a regulatory framework observatory, the incorporation of geopolitical risk criteria in technological contracting, the reinforcement of digital identity, and the promotion of internal training and capacity-building programs to ensure the alignment of the entire organization.