SAP on Friday launched its Sovereign Cloud in India, marking a significant step in the company’s push for digital sovereignty and AI-driven innovation. The rollout is part of the German software maker’s long-term global plan, under which it has committed more than €20 billion to its Sovereign Cloud portfolio in Europe, with officials confirming that a “large chunk” of this investment will flow into India.
The company said dedicated teams of Indian nationals, based in Bengaluru and Gurugram, will lead the sovereign cloud initiatives. SAP also inaugurated a Secure Operational Facility at its SAP Labs India Innovation Park in Bengaluru, designed to meet stringent government security requirements and serve as a hub for co-creating sovereign digital solutions “built in India, for India”.
Ensuring security and compliance for regulated industries
“By ensuring data remains secure, compliant, and within sovereign boundaries, we are enabling India’s regulated industries to innovate fearlessly,” Manish Prasad, president and managing director, SAP Indian Subcontinent, said. He stressed that sectors such as defence and aerospace demand the highest levels of compliance and security, adding, “That is why we waited before coming to India, we wanted to make sure the framework was aligned with government requirements”.
Focus on “Viksit Bharat”
Abhishek Singh, additional secretary, ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity), said India’s talent pool and the IndiaAI mission position the country to partner with industry players like SAP in building trusted products that advance the vision of Viksit Bharat.
Aligned with India’s National Information Security Policy and Guidelines (NISPG), SAP’s Sovereign Cloud offers four dimensions of control – data, operational, technical, and legal. Customers can choose from deployment models including on-site data centres or a hyper-scaler-based option with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Digital sovereignty supports public sector and regulated industry customers in creating a foundation that is secure, resilient, and future-ready for growth,” Martin Merz, president, SAP Sovereign Cloud, said.