The CEO of OpenNebula Systems, Ignacio M. Llorente, has been re-elected as Chair of the Cloud-Edge Working Group of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud.

The Shift from Centralized Cloud to Edge Computing

In recent years, the global volume of data has grown exponentially, shifting the focus from centralized cloud infrastructure to edge computing, closer to IoT devices and end-users. The European Commission (EC) has been very active in fostering secure, sustainable, and interoperable cloud infrastructures within Europe. The main objective is to open up the cloud market and help EU businesses and public authorities minimize dependencies on Big Tech hyperscalers. New cybersecurity and decarbonization standards are also expected to ensure data protection and energy efficiency across cloud providers. 

The EU’s Digital Decade strategy, announced by the EC in 2021, targets a 75% adoption rate of cloud-edge capabilities among EU businesses. This ambitious goal involves deploying 10,000 climate-neutral, highly secure edge nodes across the EU by 2030. These nodes will provide the necessary infrastructure for supporting fast and efficient data processing, contributing to creating a new European “proximity cloud”. The rationale behind that approach is quite simple: why send your data to a large data center hundreds of kilometers away if you can get it processed locally?

The Role of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud

Launched by the EC in 2021 under the direct sponsorship of Commissioner Thierry Breton, the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud aims to support those objectives. This initiative brings together representatives from Member States, key EU industry players, and field experts to advise the EC on how to define policies and initiatives that can speed up Europe’s digital transition. This unique forum is producing relevant technology roadmaps, specific recommendations on investment priorities, and public procurement guidelines for cloud services. 

The EU industry is playing a pivotal role in this process, providing essential input for defining high-impact investment actions on cloud and edge computing under European R&D programs like Horizon Europe. This ensures an alignment with the strategies and needs of the EU cloud and technology providers. One notable achievement, in that sense, was the updated European Industrial Technology Roadmap for the Next-Generation Cloud-Edge, submitted to the EC by the Cloud-Edge Working Group of the EU Cloud Alliance in July 2023.

OpenNebula Systems’ Commitment with the EU Cloud Alliance

Ignacio M. Llorente, CEO of OpenNebula Systems, has been re-elected as Chair of the Cloud-Edge Working Group for a new two-year term. With a PhD in computing science and an executive master’s degree in business administration, he has 30 years of expertise in scaling businesses, research projects and teams in the field of large-scale distributed systems, and cloud and edge computing infrastructures. He is also an elected member of the IPCEI-CIS Industry Facilitation Group. 

As chairing company of the Cloud-Edge Working Group, OpenNebula Systems will keep fostering active cooperation among its members, supporting the internal collaborative platform of the Working Group, its dissemination actions, and the preparation of the upcoming new version of the Industrial Technology Roadmap. The company remains firmly committed to supporting the EC and the EU industry in identifying how open source cloud and edge technologies can help Europe to reclaim its global leadership and digital sovereignty in strategic areas such as HPC, 5G/6G, and Artificial Intelligence.