CREATING A NEW JOINT COMPANY

Connectivity and big data firm Thales, and Google Cloud have announced an agreement to co-develop a sovereign hyperscale cloud offering for France with the aim of meeting the criteria of the French “Trusted Cloud”.

Forming a new company under French law through this partnership, Thales and Google Cloud’s solution will be deployed on dedicated infrastructure in France that will be managed and operated by the new company, of which Thales will be the majority shareholder.

“Thanks to this unique collaboration with Google Cloud, we will be able to help power the digital transformation for organizations of all sizes and industries that want to keep control and sovereignty over their data and that of their customers,” said Marc Darmon, Executive Vice President, Secure Communications and Information Systems of Thales.

“Together, we will address the criteria defined by the government for a trusted cloud, as well as environmental goals with a sustainable approach for the infrastructure we will build.”

According to the partners, the new Thales and Google Cloud offering will address the legal and technical requirements for ‘Trusted Cloud’ which will enable private and public sector organizations who need to meet the criteria – defined by France’s Information Systems Security Agency (ANSSI) – to benefit from cloud computing services, in accordance with the country’s sovereign cloud strategy.

“Thales and Google Cloud have a joint vision to deliver the most innovative and trusted solutions to companies and public sector organizations in France. Our unique approach to addressing the concerns of French citizens and government bodies, including the development of a new company, ensures organizations can benefit from the innovation and agility of the cloud, without compromising on the security, privacy and sovereignty required by the French government,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud.

This partnership is crucial to Thales operations in France as its customer-base include businesses, organizations and governments – in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains.