stackconf 2024 | Using European Open Source to build a Sovereign Multi-Cloud by Francisco Picolino

The European Commission has clearly identified open source as a strategic tool for bringing some balance to an EU cloud market currently dominated by a handful of non-EU hyperscalers. Part of that commitment comes through a series of ambitious, multi-million EU projects like the SIMPL platform for Data Spaces and the multi-country “Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services” (IPCEI-CIS). For the first time in the history of the European Union, it is the EU industry who will be leading large-scale open source projects aimed at building European strategic technologies. In this talk we will explain in detail how specific European open source technologies are being brought together as part of some of those projects to start building Sovereign Multi-Cloud solutions that ensure interoperability and digital sovereignty for European users while preventing vendor lock-in in the cloud market, opening up competition in the emerging 5G/edge.

1. Using European Open Source
to build a Sovereign Multi-Cloud

2. ~$ whoami
?????? Madrid (Spain)
Francisco Picolini
Open Source Community Manager
[email protected]

@opennebula @francjp

3. OpenNebula Systems
The European Open Source Company behind OpenNebula
●HQ in Madrid (Spain), with offices
in Brussels (BE), Brno (CZ) & USA.

●The only European open source
IaaS solution, born in 2008.

●A success story emerged from EU
innovation programs.

●Chairing the Cloud/Edge WG of the
EU Cloud Alliance.

●Chairing the new €3B IPCEI Cloud.

4. Some Context

5. CENTRALIZED
INFRASTRUCTURE
DECENTRALIZED
INFRASTRUCTURE
Mainframe
(1960-1970)
Centralized Cloud
(2006-2020)
Client/Server
(1980-2000)
Distributed Cloud
(2020-)
Trends in the Cloud Market
Towards a new multi-provider & vendor-neutral Edge Computing paradigm

6. Since 2017, the EU cloud market has grown more than threefold (over €23 billion for 2020)
… but European cloud service providers’ market share keeps declining!
The EU is heavily dependent on non-EU cloud services, infrastructure, and technologies
Trends in the Cloud Market

7. ?????? New Industrial Strategy
?????? Use of cloud in Europe is rising very slowly
Only 36% of European enterprises used cloud services in 2020, mostly for simple services such as for email
and storage of files. This slows down Europe’s green & digital transformation, and the new data economy.

?????? Small market share for European actors
The largest European cloud provider accounts for less than 1% of total revenues generated in the
European market. Increasingly higher entry barriers for new CSPs, unable to compete against hyperscalers.

?????? Investment gap
Estimated gap of 11,000 million EUR annually between what the US & China and Europe invest in cloud.

?????? Concerns of European users
They have in practice a very limited if non-existing possibility to switch between different cloud service
providers. They also express their concerns with the use of non-European cloud services for reasons of
personal data protection (e.g. GDPR compliance), cybersecurity, or applicable laws (e.g. CLOUD Act).
Strategic Dependencies & Capacities — Key Issues

8. ?????? New Industrial Strategy
?????? "Europe has a unique market opportunity in the
next five years to strengthen its data processing
technologies by capitalising on the changes to
come, in particular related to edge computing".

??????Europe can leverage its current strengths in
Industrial Internet of Things, 5G networks, and
telco-cloud solutions:

○“A competitive European alternative for a
multi-cloud solution would be needed, building
on an open source and governance by an
independent organisation.”
Strategic Dependencies & Capacities — Opportunities for Europe’s Autonomy

9. ?????? European Commission
"It may be too late to replicate hyperscalers, but it is not too late to achieve technological sovereignty in some critical technology areas”

10. ?????? European Commission
“Open source impacts the digital autonomy of Europe. Against the hyperscalers in
the cloud, it is likely that open source can give Europe a chance to create and
maintain its own, independent digital approach and stay in control of its processes,
its information and its technology”.

European Commission
Open Source Software Strategy 2020-2023


“In the digital decade, open source will be a key element to achieve Europe’s
resilience and digital sovereignty. Open source helps breaking entry barriers for
innovative companies and cutting costs for users. It improves market competition
and technology neutrality. In one word: it gives people choice”.

Commissioner Thierry Breton
Open Source in the European Economy: A Driver for Digital Sovereignty (Open Source Lisbon 2021)

11. OpenNebula (2008–Present)

12. Leading European Innovation in Cloud & Edge Computing
2005
OpenNebula
is born
20102008

2009
EU 7th
Framework
Programme


OpenNebula Systems
Commercial Support
Professional Services
2013 2014
OpenNebula
TechDays
2015
Record Prod
Deployment:
300,000 Cores
across 16 DCs


2017 2019 2021
> 5,000 Active
OpenNebula Clouds


Chairs of the Cloud/Edge WG
EU Cloud Alliance


OpenNebula 1.0
Large-scale Production
Deployment: 16,000 VMs


First Edition
in Berlin

AWS & Azure
Hybrid Drivers
OpenNebula Systems USA
Horizon 2020
2022 2023
Horizon Europe
IPCEI-CIS


Madrid TechDay
OpenNebula Timeline

13. What is OpenNebula?
The Only European Open Source Cloud & Edge Computing Platform
Kubernetes Clusters





CORE DATA CENTER





PUBLIC CLOUD
Virtual Infrastructure Management, Cloud Management Provisioning & Cloud Federation





EDGE
Virtual Machines ✓Multi-Tenancy
✓Self-Service
✓High Availability
✓Federation
✓Multi-Tier Apps
✓Elasticity
✓Automation
✓Multi-Cloud
✓VMs + Kubernetes

Building a Vendor-Neutral Abstraction Layer to Ensure Workload Portability and Repatriation

14. Marketplace + Container Orchestration
Cloud & Edge Resources (Public / Private)
Any Infrastructure
Automatic provision of
resources from cloud &
edge providers
1
Uniform Management
Homogeneous layer for
user and workload
management and
operation
2
Any Application
VMs, multi-VM services,
containers, and K8s clusters
on a shared environment
3
Internet
What is OpenNebula?
The Only European Open Source Cloud & Edge Computing Platform

15. Don’t forget to check out
 our new stable release… 
 OpenNebula 6.8 “Rosette”! 
OpenNebula.io/Rosette
DOWNLOAD NOW

16. SovereignEdge.EU

19. AI-enabled Adaptive Serverless Framework for the Cognitive Cloud-Edge Continuum












PROVIDING EDGE DEVELOPERS WITH A SMART PLATFORM
TO EASILY MANAGE, AUTOMATE, AND OPTIMIZE
THE DEPLOYMENT OF CONTINUUM-NATIVE APPLICATIONS

22. IPCEI on Next Generation Cloud
Infrastructure & Services
( IPCEI-CIS )

23. IPCEI Cloud Infra & Services
Say ‘hello’ to the largest open source project in EU history!
★Strategic co-investment programme approved by the EC in Dec’23:
●1,200 million EUR in State Aid + 1,400 million EUR in private funds.
●Expected to create +1000 highly-qualified jobs across the EU.

★~100 European companies from 12 Member States.
ipcei-cis.eu

24. IPCEI Cloud Infra & Services
ipcei-cis.eu

25. Application Providers
in Multiple Industries
End Users
Cloud Providers Edge Providers
Solution Providers (ISVs)
Integrators
Technology
Extensions
Data Processing Services

USERS
Datacenter-Cloud-Edge Continuum
Data Centers
IPCEI Cloud Infra & Services
ipcei-cis.eu

26. Thank you !!