Weekly Backlog Week 10/2026

🧠 Editorial: Cloud is political. Period.

This issue focuses on a topic often wrapped in technical jargon: digital sovereignty.

But this week has clearly shown that it’s not just a whitepaper term.

• Microsoft opens a “Sovereignty” studio in Munich – yet remains a US corporation under US jurisdiction.
• Two AWS data centers in the UAE are hit by drones – Availability Zones don’t protect against geopolitics.
• The German government plans a central citizen app – the crucial question is: on what infrastructure?
• Schools in Saxony-Anhalt demonstrate that Linux works in everyday life.
• A hosting provider has been running its own servers in Germany for years – without hyperscalers in the background.

This is not a cultural battle of “USA vs. Europe.” It’s about control, legal jurisdictions, dependencies, and physical reality.

Cloud is not an abstract construct. It resides in data centers. It is subject to laws. It is tied to political interests. And it can become a target of military attacks if necessary.

This issue therefore focuses less on features and more on power dynamics. Less on API compatibility and more on strategic consequences.

When we talk about S3 vs. MinIO, citizen apps, or Sovereign Clouds, we’re not just discussing architecture diagrams – but the question: Who actually controls the foundation of our digital infrastructure?

That’s what Week 10 is about.

🚨 The Tech News of the Week

Microsoft’s “Sovereign Studio” in Munich – or: Hashtag #sovereignwashing

Microsoft opens a “European Sovereignty & Digital Resilience Studio” in Munich. The message: more control, more resilience, more European data sovereignty – based on Azure and Microsoft AI.

Strategically, this isn’t foolish. In a geopolitically tense situation, the need for security is growing in Europe. Companies and authorities want innovation but no political vulnerability. Microsoft provides the appropriate vocabulary: Sovereign Cloud, European Data Boundary, digital assurances.

Sounds good. Feels good. Perfect for quoting at conferences.

But in the end, a US corporation remains part of a US power and legal framework. Embedded in economic and political interests not defined in Brussels or Berlin. Governance, strategic control, and technological core dependencies don’t shift with new terms or studios.

While Microsoft emphasizes European sovereignty in Munich, Washington pursues a clear line to secure global data flows and technological dominance. National solo efforts or regulatory decouplings are not seen there as expressions of legitimate self-determination, but as risks to US interests.

And this is where it gets interesting: If digital infrastructure is geopolitical, then every “sovereignty” promise is geopolitical too.

The open question remains: How reliable are such promises in a crisis? And what does Donald Trump say when his “friends” in Europe promote sovereignty while Washington politically curtails exactly these efforts internationally?

More on this here: 🔗 https://www.it-administrator.de/microsoft-souveraenitaet-studio-muenchen

Drone Attacks on AWS Data Centers – Cloud is Physical

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has confirmed that two data centers in the United Arab Emirates were directly hit by drones. Another facility in Bahrain was affected by an impact nearby.

The consequences are not cosmetic:

• Structural damage
• Power supply disruptions
• Secondary damage from firefighting efforts

The region ME-CENTRAL-1 (UAE) is particularly affected. Two out of three Availability Zones – mec1-az2 and mec1-az3 – are severely impacted. One zone continues to operate normally. In ME-SOUTH-1 (Bahrain), there are minor restrictions.

Currently, AWS reports:

• 25 services completely interrupted
• 34 others with impairments

According to AWS, recovery will take a long time due to the physical damage.

Initially, AWS only mentioned “objects” causing the disruptions. It is now clear: These were drone attacks related to the military escalation between Israel, the USA, and Iran. Since the beginning of the conflicts, several Gulf states have experienced missile and drone attacks.

This is not a “Cloud Incident.” This is geopolitics with immediate infrastructure impact.

Data centers are considered critical infrastructure. They form the basis of numerous digital services worldwide. When they are physically hit, “Multi-AZ Architecture” quickly becomes a question of real location strategy.

AWS points to the tense security environment and urges customers to:

• Check backups
• Review emergency plans
• Possibly relocate workloads to other regions

Cloud is not detached from the world. It stands right in the middle of it.

Details at heise: 🔗 https://www.heise.de/news/Zwei-AWS-Rechenzentren-direkt-von-Drohnen-getroffen-Reparatur-wird-dauern-11196368.html

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Wildberger’s Citizen App – Modernization or New Dependency Frontend?

Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger announces a nationwide citizen app. The goal: bring government services centrally to smartphones.

Submit applications. Book appointments. Identify online. Complemented by a digital wallet for ID or driver’s license data.

The idea is understandable: one interface instead of a jungle of responsibilities. One app instead of paper forms.

This can simplify processes. But it can also be just a new frontend over old structures.

The crucial point is not that this app comes. The crucial point is how it is built.

Cloud-based today often means: infrastructure and platforms from the USA. Setting up central citizen services on this means shifting core state functions into technological dependencies. And this is where it is decided whether digital sovereignty remains just a political buzzword – or becomes architectural reality.

Details on the technical implementation are expected in June/July. Then it will become clear whether there is a consistent focus on open source, open interfaces, and European infrastructure – or whether we strategically continue to move towards US tech.

More at Golem: 🔗 https://www.golem.de/news/verwaltung-digitalminister-wildberger-plant-zentrale-buerger-app-2602-205928.html

Digital Independence Day – Switching Instead of Debating

With the “Digital Independence Day” (DI.DAY), the network Save Social – Networks For Democracy calls on the first Sunday of every month to question digital habits.

Instead of fundamental debates, there are concrete “switch recipes”:

• Windows → Linux Mint
• Microsoft Office → LibreOffice
• Google Maps → OpenStreetMap
• WhatsApp → Signal
• Alternatives to PayPal, Chrome, Gmail, or X

The time required is transparently indicated – from a few minutes to about an hour.

The goal is to reduce dependencies on large US technology corporations and make alternatives visible. According to the organizers, the instructions are carefully researched and coordinated with an expert advisory board.

The DI.DAY is not seen as a one-time campaign, but as a regular prompt for digital reflection. Digital sovereignty is not negotiated here as a geopolitical buzzword, but as an everyday decision.

Pragmatic. Low-threshold. Feasible.

More info: 🔗 https://di.day/de/wechselrezepte

🔗 LinkedIn Post of the Week

Cristian Mudure, CEO of Stackfield GmbH, gets straight to the point at the #SZDigitalgipfel: Data “sovereignty” remains an illusion as long as US law like the CLOUD Act allows American authorities access to data with US providers – regardless of server location. For him, true independence is not a question of location, but of legal control over data. 🌐💥

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cristian-mudure-9506183_szdigitalgipfel-activity-7434861637976682497-5dGw/

🔍 Blog Post of the Week

AWS S3 vs. MinIO – Standard or Sovereignty?

At first glance, the comparison seems simple: Both speak S3-API. Both deliver scalable, highly available object storage. Both work reliably.

But this interchangeability conceals what it’s really about: not the interface, but control.

AWS S3 stands for a deeply integrated hyperscaler ecosystem. Comfortable, powerful, but with growing dependency and hard-to-calculate usage costs.

MinIO combines S3 compatibility with open source and the ability to determine infrastructure, storage location, and operating model yourself. Data remains portable. Architectures reversible. Decisions sovereign.

The choice of object storage is thus not a technical detail question, but a strategic decision. It determines in the long term:

• Cost control
• Compliance capability
• Digital independence

The full comparison is available here:

🔗 </posts/aws-s3-vs-minio/>

✅ Good News: Sovereignty in Action

HostPress® – Own Infrastructure Instead of Hyperscalers

While many hosting providers rely on the infrastructure of large US cloud companies, HostPress takes a different path.

Since its founding in 2016, Marcus Krämer has operated HostPress with its own hardware in German data centers – spread across multiple locations. The goal: to operate WordPress projects entirely within the German or European legal framework.

WordPress forms the basis for around 40 percent of all websites worldwide. Stability, performance, and legal security are accordingly critical.

The crucial difference: HostPress is not a reseller of international hyperscalers. The entire technical chain – from server structure to data processing – remains domestic.

Legally, this means: exclusively German and European law. No involvement in the American CLOUD Act.

In times of growing sensitivity to data protection and digital sovereignty, this is not a marketing slide, but a structural decision.

More on this: 🔗 https://ostdeutscheallgemeine.com/article/mehr-datensouveraenitaet-fuer-deutschland-10020028

Saxony-Anhalt: Linux in the Classroom

In the Harz district, thousands of students work on used business computers with Linux and open-source software like LibreOffice.

No license costs. Transparent data processing. Full control.

While the state administration spends 1.2 million euros annually on Windows licenses for around 26,000 workstations and the transition to Windows 11 costs an additional more than four million euros, the schools show: Alternatives work in productive operation.

Open source here means:

• Open source code
• Customizability
• Independent choice of service providers
• Traceable data flows

The topic is politically accompanied by a strategy for digital sovereignty and by institutions like the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration with solutions like “OpenDesk”.

Saxony-Anhalt shows: Digital independence doesn’t start with big