When choosing where to host a business application, you need to know where its data will live, who operates the infrastructure and which external services it relies on. If your business needs to keep data and operations within the EU, those requirements should shape the design from the start.

AWS recently tested whether its European Sovereign Cloud could operate independently. The results give businesses considering the service evidence to assess alongside their own application requirements.

What AWS demonstrated

In its September announcement, AWS outlined a test disconnecting the European Sovereign Cloud from its global backbone and a separate operational-data transfer system. Internet connectivity would remain available through European providers. AWS also distinguishes customer content and customer-created metadata, which stay in the EU, from limited operational data transfers during normal operation.

AWS's 1 November 2026 follow-up reports that the 24 October exercise succeeded. For several hours, teams in the EU ran the cloud using its own hardware and software. Workloads and data access continued, with no impact on service availability or AWS Direct Connect connectivity.

Your application still needs its own checks. It may rely on external services that weren't part of the platform test.

Sovereignty extends beyond the data centre

AWS describes the European Sovereign Cloud as physically and logically separate from its other Regions, with its first Region in Brandenburg, Germany. EU-resident personnel working within the EU control operations. AWS says it is progressively moving to an operation staffed exclusively by EU citizens located in the EU.

Data location is only part of the assessment. An application might store records in Europe but depend on a sign-in service, licence server or reporting system elsewhere. We start by tracing a complete business process to identify those connections.

Consider a purchasing system. Staff need to sign in, retrieve supplier records, approve an order and send it for fulfilment. Reviewing each step reveals which services must remain reachable and where an alternative is needed if a connection fails.

We also review administrator access, backup destinations, monitoring and support arrangements, then document the requirements for your IT team and business managers to review together.

Choosing the right AWS environment

The European Sovereign Cloud requires a separate account. AWS's FAQ states that these accounts are independent and not interoperable with accounts in other AWS Regions. AWS positions the service for workloads needing enhanced data residency and operational autonomy. Existing AWS Regions remain an option for other requirements.

Before proposing a move, we check that the destination supports the services and features your application uses. We review sign-in and access controls, networking, software licensing, backup and recovery, deployment tools and recurring costs.

A pilot should test everyday work and recovery after a failure. Check that staff can complete an order, administrators can investigate a fault, and a backup can be restored within the agreed time. Our business continuity guide explains how to set recovery priorities around the needs of your business.

How Computer On Site works with AWS

Computer On Site provides AWS services as an AWS Select Tier Services Partner. AWS describes Select Tier partners as organisations with trained and certified people and customer experience. The AWS Partner Network provides technical training and reference architectures that support delivery. Select status is distinct from a specialist sovereignty designation.

AWS supplies the cloud platform. We design and implement the environment your business will use. Our cloud migration services cover assessment, design, pilot delivery, migration and handover. We agree the scope and the checks required before the system goes live.

We turn the assessment into a design covering access controls, network connections, data protection and estimated operating costs. For a European Sovereign Cloud project, we also check the requirements that apply to the people and organisations implementing and supporting the environment.

We then configure the environment, test it with people who will use it and plan the move into production. At handover, we document who handles monitoring, updates, recovery and incidents, along with any ongoing support you've agreed with us.

Start with one application and the services it depends on. Assessing them together gives you a practical basis for choosing between an existing AWS Region and the European Sovereign Cloud.