Capgemini and Microsoft deepen partnership to deliver sovereign, AI-ready cloud transformation
Capgemini has expanded its long-standing alliance with Microsoft, signalling a sharper focus on digital sovereignty as enterprises grapple with rising regulatory, geopolitical and operational complexity.
Announced in Mumbai, the collaboration is aimed at offering clients a fully integrated managed cloud model that embeds sovereignty, compliance and business continuity into every phase of digital transformation. At its core, the partnership is designed to help organisations accelerate adoption of Microsoft’s Sovereign Cloud portfolio and advanced AI technologies—without compromising control over data or operations.
Balancing innovation with sovereignty
As enterprises expand their use of cloud and AI, concerns around jurisdictional control, regulatory compliance and operational resilience have moved from the periphery to the boardroom. The two companies say the enhanced partnership will provide structured pathways for clients to define and operationalise digital sovereignty strategies.
This includes conducting detailed assessments to identify sovereignty objectives, evaluate risk exposure and develop tailored recommendations. Clients will also gain access to resiliency scenarios that help maintain operations during regulatory shifts, geopolitical disruptions or cyber incidents.
The model allows organisations to operate seamlessly across sovereign public, sovereign private and national partner cloud environments, while maintaining pre-approved continuity plans.
Aiman Ezzat, CEO of Capgemini, framed the move as a response to increasing complexity in leadership decision-making.
“Leaders are making critical decisions in an increasingly complex environment where innovation must be balanced with sovereignty and compliance. By deepening our partnership with Microsoft, we intend to bring together the experience and innovative AI solutions clients need to make decisions with confidence. As a trusted AI-led technology and business transformation partner to our clients, Capgemini helps organisations embed sovereignty throughout the full transformation lifecycle, enabling them to move forward while managing risk and meeting compliance requirements.”
Sovereignty becomes mission critical
From Microsoft’s perspective, sovereignty is no longer a niche requirement but a foundational expectation.
Judson Althoff, CEO, Microsoft Commercial Business, said: “Sovereignty has become mission critical for organisations that want to fully realise the promise of cloud and AI while maintaining full control over their data and operations. Through the collaboration with Capgemini, we intend to deliver tailored solutions for the Microsoft Sovereign Cloud spanning sovereign public, sovereign private, and national partner clouds that empower organisorations, strengthen resilience, and create meaningful business impact with the assurance that their data and AI systems remain protected and compliant.”
Industry-specific sovereign solutions
Building on their two-decade relationship, the companies plan to co-develop industry-specific sovereign solutions across sectors including financial services, public sector, defence, telecom, life sciences, manufacturing and critical national infrastructure.
The collaboration will focus on four key pillars:
– Sovereignty-by-design for digital transformation and AI, ensuring that AI-led modernisation respects local laws, industry regulations and data requirements, with accelerators for legacy modernisation and data classification.
– Intelligent risk and compliance management, offering integrated governance models across Microsoft’s sovereign cloud environments.
– Continuity and operational resilience, with predefined execution scenarios to protect business-critical workloads during disruption.
– Automated protection of data, including AI-powered cyber defence, encryption, identity controls and real-time threat detection tailored to sovereign environments.
The announcement builds on earlier initiatives such as Bleu, a trusted cloud partnership launched in France in 2024 by Capgemini and Orange, built using Microsoft cloud technologies to serve sensitive public-sector and critical infrastructure clients.
In an era where cloud adoption is increasingly shaped by national boundaries and compliance mandates, the partnership reflects a broader industry shift: digital transformation is no longer simply about speed and scale, but about trust, resilience and control.