SUSE and cloud provider Exoscale partnered on a sovereign cloud offering for European businesses.

The collaboration will see SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) available as an official virtual machine (VM) template on Exoscale's European cloud platform, with a pay-as-you-go model offering the use of SLES on an hourly basis.

The templates were developed in partnership between SUSE and channel partner Adfinis, which focuses on enterprise-grade Linux distribution. Exoscale touted automated provisioning and contextualization with the integration, ensuring built-in readiness with the latest SLES packages and security updates, and the potential to eliminate manual repository and subscription management.

Exoscale also highlighted that it and SUSE follow the EuroStack initiative, which is focused on building a sovereign digital infrastructure to reduce Europe's dependence on foreign technology, primarily from the United States and China. Exoscale was also a signatory on a recent letter criticizing the latest draft of the European Union's (EU) cybersecurity certification scheme, which they claim will make it easier for the all-American hyperscalers to bid for EU cloud computing contracts.

SUSE has also recently introduced a support service for European businesses seeking an EU-sovereign support offering. Sovereign support was reported to be available with the SLES offering, with Exoscale customers able to run secure enterprise applications, cloud-native stacks, and development environments in compliance with European regulations.

The EU Data Act kicked into gear last month to weaken vendor lock-in for Europe's cloud customers. The cause has seen the likes of OVHcloud, Cisco, SAP, SUSE, and Microsoft invest in EU-compliant solutions within recent months.

In a recent DCD Compute panel attended by SDxCentral, execs questioned the level of detail and commitment in ensuring European data sovereignty, highlighting that while the continent may be advancing on data centers and silicon, it may always rely on third-party nations to build out the full-stack supply chain.

The SUSE/Exoscale partnership follows recent plaudits for SUSE’s container services from both Gartner and Forrester, with the former noting its AI and server virtualization offering, and the latter commending it for continuing to back its Rancher Labs acquisition with other purchases and ongoing innovations.