The perfect complement: GovStack collaborates with Sovereign Cloud Stack

Berlin, 17 December 2024 The GovStack initiative provides guidelines and frameworks that support countries in their digital transformation. To this end, it provides them with building blocks (BB) that help them offer digital services to their citizens. Several working groups publish overarching requirements, building blocks and technical specifications for this purpose. One of the most recent building blocks is the Cloud Infrastructure Building Block Specification.

As a non-profit, publicly funded project, the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS) participate in the Cloud Infrastructure Working Group. The SCS project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) to develop a production-ready open-source cloud infrastructure and container stack and to provide open standards and operational knowledge. The results of the Working Group have now been published in a first version of recommendations for building a digitally sovereign cloud infrastructure. published. This draft provides governments and their technical teams with a framework for their own clouds. With this framework, they can build a reliable and secure cloud based on a model that can be integrated into their digital strategy – many governments tend to use private clouds, but for scalability or as an offering for regional businesses, they can use the same technology for public or hybrid clouds.

Both projects share the same mindset regarding digital sovereignty, which made the collaboration very effective. Both want to empower their cloud and software users to make sovereign decisions about their digital transformation, their choice of technology, and their ability to control and shape that technology. With the GovStack Building Block Framework, governments can offer their citizens various digital services based on a sovereign cloud infrastructure. This is an important step for any country. Many aspects of daily life are digital or digitally supported, and the ability to control, shape and develop the digital space themselves, without entering into unwanted dependencies, helps states to strengthen their self-confidence and catch up with larger nations.

SCS completes the picture of GovStack on a practical level – the SCS software covers almost all requirements and recommendations of the specifications (only two requirements marked as „recommendations“ are not met, which is clearly here can see) and thus becomes a reference implementation specifications. This enables the SCS community and its partners to support countries in implementing their cloud infrastructure – depending on how they want to design it, either within the countries themselves or with trusted operators. SCS is thus used for its intended purpose: as a digitally sovereign and mature open source cloud infrastructure. For government clouds, for regional OSPOs, as the basis for a global network, developed by a global, diverse community.

The first collaborations with countries have already begun in Mauritania, Jordan, Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia. In these countries, GovStack is supporting governments in their digital transformation, with the possibility for countries to host their applications and services in their own sovereign cloud.

Relevant links: GovStack: (https://govstack.global/) Sovereign Cloud Stack: (https://scs.community/) Technical documentation SCS: (https://docs.scs.community/docs) SCS understanding of digital sovereignty: (https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s11623-022-1669-5?sharing_token=ie7xTVzv_afod07w5Y2lJfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4yFyxh9Qw2iCtygUYjun7MI5leBYqiHZBlIeTPv8Sm1Wv8c1dEUf6ebSwnRfo99_nAYh2FgwUyIHjFyZFWv_EIOEIetr2eBSiAPrI68ptBgKxMVkNlS4udZRAhx1X-WB8=) Building Block Cloud Infrastructure Specifications: (https://govstack.gitbook.io/bb-cloud-infrastructure)

About the Sovereign Cloud Stack SCS has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) since July 2021 and is implemented by the Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty (Open Source Business Alliance). An international ecosystem of more than 25 companies with over 50 software developers is contributing to the success of the Sovereign Cloud Stack. Together, open standards for a modern, federable open-source cloud and container platform are being defined and implemented in an open development process using proven open-source components. At the same time, knowledge and practical experience from operations are being made available transparently in order to minimise the difficulties involved in providing high-quality and secure cloud services. Seven providers are already using SCS technology productively to operate truly sovereign and GDPR-compliant public cloud offerings. Further SCS-based cloud infrastructures (public and private clouds) are currently under construction. SCS is a Gaia-X lighthouse project and provides the development platform for the Gaia-X Federation Services / Cross-Federation Service Components (GXFS/XFSC). SCS also contributes to the implementation of the German Administration Cloud (DVC).

About the Open Source Business Alliance The Open Source Business Alliance (OSBA) is the association for the open source industry in Germany. It represents over 200 member companies that generate more than €126 billion annually. Together with scientific institutions and user organisations, it works to anchor the central importance of open source software and open standards for successful digital transformation in the public consciousness. It also aims to promote innovation in the field of open source. The OSBA's goal is to establish open source as the standard in public procurement and in research and economic development. This is because open source and open standards are a compelling foundation for digital sovereignty, innovation and security in the digital transformation, and thus the answer to one of the greatest challenges of our time.

About GovStack GovStack is a global partnership that enables countries and organisations to create cost-effective, efficient and locally tailored digital public services that provide seamless access to important tools such as health data, identity documents and digital payments. GovStack provides technical specifications, tools and guidance for the use of reusable and interoperable building blocks – such as digital identity, registries, consent, payment and cloud infrastructure – which form the basis for various digital services. GovStack is committed to product neutrality and offers open, customisable frameworks rather than providing ready-made software or favouring certain product solutions over others. Through this approach, GovStack ensures that governments receive flexible support tailored to each stage of their digital transformation.