Five instances of the word “sovereignty” in a single post: on Alibaba Cloud’s blog, that’s unusual, to say the least.
This post, published in early February, offers an “annual review” of the private cloud offering Apsara Stack. In practice, it reads as a marketing brochure. It thus features numerous references to the concept of “sovereignty,” complete with examples. Among them, Senegal. On site, from October 31 to November 13, 2026, the Youth Olympic Games will take place. The main underlying information systems are to be migrated to Alibaba Cloud, we are told. Apsara Stack will host “critical applications” such as ticketing and the management of the flame’s journey. It is also meant to contribute, subsequently, to the establishment of a “sovereign national cloud infrastructure.”…
Alibaba Cloud offers another example: Algeria, which has relied on its services to deploy a “sovereign cloud infrastructure for public services.”
Alibaba Cloud bets on telco partnerships
To find another instance of the word “sovereignty” on the company’s main blog, one must trace back to September 2025. It congratulated a Malaysian client and a systems integrator partner who had just won innovation awards granted by an IT industry association.
A few months earlier, its public-sector head had urged emerging countries to invest in the “sovereign cloud.” He highlighted alliances formed in this perspective with telecom operators and mentioned one in South Africa with BCX, which ensures an “independent operation” of the cloud.
Alibaba Cloud entered the South African market thanks to this partnership. It was in 2022. Vowing to support the development of local skills, it established, with BCX, an Alibaba Cloud Academy.
European certifications… especially in Germany
In its trust center, Alibaba Cloud details its compliance with various national regulations—but only for the Asia (+ Australia) footprint. However, among the certifications it holds, several have been issued in Europe. Notably C5 (the German SecNumCloud), first obtained in 2020. Germany also awarded it the AIC4 (AI Cloud Service Compliance Criteria Catalog), which assesses the security of AI services. Locally, it also earned a certification from the automotive industry: TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange).
In Europe, Alibaba Cloud also holds the EU CoC certification. It is intended to attest to its compliance with the obligations of Article 28 of the GDPR, relating to processors.
