Capgemini has become the first partner to receive SAP's Sovereign Cloud Partner designation, covering France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
The recognition confirms that Capgemini meets SAP's standards for sovereign cloud delivery in data residency, operational control, governance, security and delivery. It comes as demand grows from governments and regulated industries for cloud systems that keep sensitive data and operational oversight within defined national or regional boundaries.
The designation builds on Capgemini's existing work with SAP in sovereign cloud environments. The group has been working with clients in sectors including the public sector, financial services, energy and utilities, where rules on data location, compliance and operational control are often stricter than elsewhere in the economy.
One of the clearest examples is in the UK, where Capgemini has been appointed by HM Revenue & Customs as a migration delivery partner for the Enterprise Tax Management Platform. The system supports more than 50 tax regimes and processes more than GBP £875 billion a year.
Capgemini is supporting the platform's migration to SAP S/4HANA and SAP sovereign cloud services in the UK. HMRC's wider technology overhaul is intended to improve system performance, strengthen resilience and maintain continuity for services used by millions of taxpayers and more than 40,000 staff.
The sovereign cloud label has become increasingly important for large technology buyers, particularly in Europe. Policymakers and public bodies have pressed suppliers to show that cloud infrastructure, data handling and operational management can meet domestic and regional requirements, especially where critical national systems or sensitive public records are involved.
The trend has accelerated as companies and public agencies seek to deploy artificial intelligence tools on top of core business systems. The use of AI in regulated environments has heightened concern over where data is stored, who can access it and how systems are governed.
Thomas Saueressig, Chief Customer Officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE, said: “Europe's ability to compete globally depends on combining innovation with strong digital sovereignty. Capgemini's achievement of this SAP Sovereign Cloud Partner milestone reflects the capabilities required to deliver sovereign cloud at scale. Together, we are supporting organizations in deploying AI and cloud technologies in environments aligned with their requirements.”
SAP's designation gives Capgemini a formal position in a market where cloud suppliers and service partners are trying to reassure customers that modernization does not require giving up control of critical systems. For SAP, it also broadens the ecosystem of partners able to implement its software and cloud services in sovereignty-focused settings.
Capgemini, which reported annual revenue of EUR €22.5 billion, has made AI and business transformation central to its strategy. The designation gives the company another reference point as it competes for public sector and regulated industry contracts that require both large-scale systems integration and tighter controls over data and operations.
Fernando Alvarez, Chief Strategy and Development Officer and member of the Group Executive Board at Capgemini, said: “As organizations accelerate their use of AI, digital sovereignty has become a core requirement for resilience and long-term competitiveness. Being the first SAP partner to achieve this recognition illustrates our leadership in this space. We have the capabilities to deliver and are already doing so, helping clients transform their critical systems in sovereign environments and scale AI across the enterprise, with full control over their data and operations where they need it.”