There is real tension for companies between the need to modernize technology to improve efficiency, resilience, and service outcomes, and the need to protect sensitive data, maintain operational control, and meet increasingly stringent sovereignty requirements. Organizations have to move rapidly, while they search for value. 

Cloud sovereignty is the principle by which an organization or a nation ensures that its critical data, workloads, and digital infrastructure remain under its exclusive jurisdiction, control, and protection – regardless of the physical location or ownership of the underlying cloud infrastructure. This includes the ability to enforce regulatory compliance, maintain operational continuity, and safeguard sensitive information across all classification levels.  

But there is no longer a need for a trade-off between these priorities. It is possible to innovate faster and retain control.

Capgemini is expanding its strategic partnership with Google Cloud to help organizations advance cloud-native and AI-driven innovation within sovereign boundaries, giving leaders the confidence to modernize critical systems while retaining the level of control their task, industry, and regulators demand. With a newly attained GDC partner status, Capgemini can also deliver a sovereign, fully operated service model designed for organizations requiring total isolation from the public internet.  

Why sovereignty and modernization must go hand in hand 

Digital sovereignty has moved beyond a compliance discussion. It is now a core component of trust between governments and citizens, institutions and customers, and organizations and their regulators. At the same time, cloud and AI are rapidly becoming essential to modern operations, from improving service delivery to strengthening resilience and decision making. 

The challenge for many organizations is how to adopt AI responsibly.

True progress requires an approach that enables innovation without compromising data protection, jurisdictional requirements, or operational independence. That means designing environments where sensitive data remains protected, access is governed appropriately, and organizations can demonstrate accountability at every level. 

Individually, Capgemini and Google Cloud understand what it takes to use AI responsibly while maintaining trust and resilience. With our expanded partnership, Capgemini and Google Cloud will allow organizations to use Gemini-based, hyper-automated cloud operations to drive innovation and modernize while ensuring stringent security. This partnership combines deep industry capabilities with market-leading technologies to facilitate the convergence of AI and digital sovereignty. 

Unlocking AI innovation responsibly 

AI holds enormous promise in all industries. But that promise can only be realized when cloud capabilities and AI are deployed in environments that meet strict expectations for trust, transparency, and control. 

Through this partnership, Capgemini brings its deep industry expertise and end-to-end transformation capabilities together with Google Cloud’s leading technologies, including Vertex AI and Gemini Enterprise. The result is an approach that is both powerful and responsible, allowing organizations to modernize critical applications and operations while keeping sensitive data protected and governed within sovereign frameworks. 

This is AI designed for real-world constraints, not theoretical use cases.   

A partnership designed for choice and proportional control 

Not all workloads require the same level of sovereignty. Some require strict data residency. Others demand operational independence. Many need a combination of both. 

Our expanded partnership with Google Cloud is built around this principle of choice. This partnership will enable organizations to select the sovereignty model across Google Cloud, Google Cloud Dedicated, and Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped offerings that best fit each workload, whether it means applying data boundaries within a hyperscale environment or operating fully sovereign, air-gapped services for greater control requirements. This flexible approach allows organizations to modernize at their own pace, without applying unnecessary constraints or creating complexity. 

Crucially, this is not about bolting controls onto existing systems. It is about engineering sovereignty into the foundation of modern cloud and AI platforms, so protection, resilience, and innovation move forward together. It is based on the most powerful cloud and AI technologies sourced globally, which are then owned, hosted, and operated on a fully localized and sovereign basis.

The role of Capgemini: From strategy to operation 

What differentiates this partnership is not only the technology, but the way it is delivered. As a company with deep European heritage, Capgemini brings decades of experience operating under some of the world’s most stringent regulatory, data‑protection, and sovereignty requirements. This experience directly informs how we design and run trusted digital platforms for our clients. 

Capgemini acts as a trusted AI-powered global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations assess their sovereignty needs, design the right operating models, modernize applications, and run secure, compliant environments over time. From strategy and architecture through to managed services, we take responsibility for turning sovereign ambition into operational reality. 

This holistic approach ensures sovereignty is not treated as a one-time decision, but as an ongoing capability that is aligned to evolving regulations, business priorities, and innovation goals. Being a Google Cloud air-gapped operator means we can further provide trusted and secure end-to-end sovereign solutions that remain fully contained within the secure enclave. time decision, but as an ongoing capability

For organizations that see digital sovereignty and AI innovation as strategic priorities, this partnership represents a clear and trusted path forward.  

Learn how Capgemini and Google Cloud can help build sovereignty into your foundation.