Brussels, Belgium, Luxembourg and Sunnyvale, Calif, March 15, 2023: Proximus, a Belgian public company listed on the Brussels stock exchange, and Google Cloud today announced a five-year agreement to deliver sovereign cloud services in Belgium and Luxembourg. This partnership will help securely deploy sensitive, mission-critical workloads and provide next-generation digital sovereignty controls for governments, regulated enterprises and international organisations.
Under this agreement, sovereign cloud services will support disconnected operations through Google Distributed Cloud Hosted, which does not require connectivity to Google Cloud to manage infrastructure, services, APIs, or tooling. Google Cloud’s sovereign solutions are designed to support data, operational and software sovereignty requirements, increasing customer control and transparency for sensitive data moving to the cloud.
“Data sovereignty is vital to European and international organisations as they digitise their operations and deploy the latest cloud innovations,'' said Adaire Fox-Martin, President of Google Cloud Go to Market & Head of Google Ireland. “These sovereign cloud solutions will help ensure that public and private-sector organisations can advance their digital transformation agendas using the latest technologies - without compromising on the security and sovereignty of their data and systems.”
Proximus plans to work with LuxConnect, a data center service provider owned by the Luxembourg state, to bring these sovereign solutions to life in Belgium and Luxembourg.
“Sovereign cloud has been on Luxembourg’s digital agenda for many years and will fill an important gap in our strategy to become a trusted digital hub from which we serve the most demanding public and private clients,” said Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg.“
“We are extremely proud to announce the first Google Cloud disconnected solution in the BeLux region,” said Guillaume Boutin, CEO of Proximus. “This is a major milestone as Proximus, partnering notably with LuxConnect, will be able to guarantee full operational sovereignty for its clients – on the European Union’s terms. Proximus will moreover leverage its vast cloud services experience in order to bring these disconnected cloud services to the Belgium and Luxembourg markets.”
“This agreement combines the strengths of both partners–Google Cloud’s trusted leadership and innovation with the power of Proximus’ experienced teams–to deliver a unique offering in the region,” said Paul Konsbruck, CEO of LuxConnect.
About Proximus
Proximus Group (Euronext Brussels: PROX) is a provider of digital services, communication and ICT solutions operating in the Belgian and international markets. Our purpose, ‘Boldly building a connected world that people trust so society blooms’, is our guiding star in delivering delightful communication and entertainment experiences for residential consumers and in enabling next generation digital innovations tailored to businesses.
Proximus aims to build the #1 gigabit network for Belgium, combined with technology assets that enable digital ecosystems, while fostering an engaging culture and empowering ways of working. These exceptional strengths pave the way to deliver long-term value for stakeholders; they allow Proximus to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable digital society, delight customers with an unrivalled experience and achieve profitable growth both locally and internationally.
In Belgium, Proximus’ core products and services are offered under the Proximus, Mobile Vikings and Scarlet brands. The Group is also active in Luxembourg, under the brand names Tango and Telindus Luxembourg, and in the Netherlands through Telindus Netherlands. The Group’s international carrier activities are managed by BICS, a leading international communications enabler, one of the key global voice carriers and the leading provider of mobile data services worldwide. With Telesign, the Group also encompasses a fast-growing leader in authentication and digital identity services, serving the world’s largest internet brands, digital champions and cloud native businesses.
With 11,634 employees, imbued with Proximus' think possible mindset and all engaged to offer a superior customer experience, the Group realized an underlying Group revenue of EUR 5,909 million end-2022.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud accelerates every organisation's ability to digitally transform their business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology — all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.