At Cisco, we are committed to delivering the best technology in the best form to meet the unique needs of every customer. This means empowering our customers with the tools, flexibility, and control they need to navigate an ever-evolving digital landscape.
In today’s world, digital resilience and responsible data governance are not just priorities—they are imperatives. In Europe, we recognize that organizations are striving to balance agility and innovation with enhanced control over their digital infrastructure and data. To meet this moment, Cisco is providing solutions that align with our European customers’ values and requirements, and we’re dedicated to offering the security, resilience, and innovation they need to shape their digital futures with confidence.
A foundation of trust: On-premises solutions
For decades, Cisco has been a trusted provider in delivering robust on-premises solutions. We’ve helped organizations including governments, enterprises, telecom providers and hyperscalers, build, run, and operate their own networks, data centers and services – capabilities that are vital for critical infrastructure and the rapidly evolving era of AI. Our long-standing experience in secure, reliable on-premises and isolated systems underpin our approach to system control and continuity today.
Freedom to choose: Seamlessly integrating SaaS
We offer customers and partners flexibility on the path to digital control. Our on-premises technologies and global SaaS solutions give customers the power to choose the right deployment models for their operations, security postures, and strategic goals.
Our customers’ needs are complex and varied. For example, security, control of data, resilience and operational authority are critical for some customers in government and critical infrastructure. Others want the agility of cloud-based services—backed by must-have elements like strong security and privacy controls, or additional control through EU data residency. Many want the seamless integration of both, and the ability to design architectures that combine high-levels of on-premises control with the agility of innovative SaaS.
Our goal is to equip organizations with the tools and options they need to thrive in a complex digital world while making sure they have control over their data, embedded security through design, and high levels of resilience. But it’s not just about technology. Through long-term partnership and trust, we’re helping embed digital resilience into Europe’s future.
Data Sovereignty: Partnering for data control by design
Building on our long-standing commitment to trusted infrastructure, Cisco continues to develop sovereignty-enabling solutions that help customers manage essential services and sensitive data in line with their unique requirements. One example is our introduction of data sovereignty controls for Webex. In collaboration with European providers, customers can now manage and host their own encryption keys within the EU – entirely separate from Cisco’s global infrastructure.
We also design key cloud-based offerings to enable European customers to store and process data in Europe – a vital precondition for data sovereignty.
Ready for what’s next
Our story in Europe began in 1991 when we opened our first European office in Amsterdam. Since then, we’ve worked side by side with customers and partners across the continent, innovating together and laying the foundation for a distinctly European digital future.
This is an ongoing journey and we will share updates on new initiatives, investments, and innovations. Cisco’s commitment remains the same: to empower Europe with the control and choice needed to reinforce its technological security and digital resilience in a fast-changing world.
Our long-standing partnership shows what’s possible when shared values meet deep engineering capability. Cisco and Europe have the vision, talent, technological and scientific excellence to help businesses across the continent – and around the world – responsibly compete in the AI-powered future.
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Thank you, Oliver, for this insightful blog. The growing emphasis on data sovereignty across Europe creates a real opportunity for Cisco to lead with Sovereign Cloud solutions that deliver control, compliance, and trust. It’s encouraging to see this strategic focus clearly articulated.
Oliver, your post really resonates with the conversations I’ve been having with organizations struggling to balance innovation with true control. Your emphasis on “control by design” aligns perfectly with what VQ Communications demonstrates in their latest analysis of the “trust descent triangle” – a framework showing why even sophisticated cloud security can leave organizations vulnerable to geopolitical pressures no one saw coming.
What’s particularly compelling is how VQ has been solving these exact sovereignty challenges since 2006, helping organizations add sovereign control layers while preserving existing Cisco investments. Check out their video here: https://youtu.be/V3EW7ndZcXs?si=5qFAjbG5BT_HaEvB – it’s a real eye-opener about risks most of us haven’t fully considered.