Communications & Engagement
Stakeholder Materials
Tailored briefings for different audiences including ministerial, parliamentary, security/intelligence, and public communications materials.
Materials by Audience
Ministerial Briefing
Audience: Cabinet Ministers, Secretaries of State, Senior Ministers
Key Messages
- Threat is existential: Four US corporations (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) can disable government services at US government direction
- Precedent exists: US has weaponised technology against allies (Huawei, TikTok, SWIFT)
- Sovereign alternative available: European providers and open-source technology can deliver equivalent capability
- Cooperative approach reduces cost: Multi-national coordination shares investment burden
- Action required now: Dependency increasing daily; window for orderly transition narrowing
Recommended Actions
- Commission cross-government dependency assessment
- Engage partner jurisdictions (EU, UK, Canada, Australia)
- Allocate initial planning budget for feasibility study
- Identify ministerial sponsor for sovereign cloud programme
Supporting Documents
- Executive Summary (10 min read)
- Threat Assessment (25 min read)
- Business Case (20 min read)
Parliamentary Briefing
Audience: Select Committees, Parliamentary Committees, MPs/MEPs/Senators
Key Messages
- Democratic oversight at risk: Government data and operations under potential foreign control
- Legal exposure: CLOUD Act gives US government extraterritorial reach over citizen data
- Economic sovereignty: Government cloud spend flows to US corporations, not domestic economy
- Bipartisan/cross-party issue: National security transcends political divisions
- Scrutiny role: Parliament should monitor migration progress and hold government accountable
Potential Committee Actions
- Request government assessment of US cloud dependency
- Summon cloud provider representatives on data access provisions
- Review contracts for service termination clauses
- Examine legal implications of CLOUD Act on citizen data
- Monitor and report on migration programme progress
Supporting Documents
Security & Intelligence Briefing
Audience: National Security Councils, Intelligence Agencies, Security Services
Key Technical Threats
- Control plane vulnerability: All major US providers route control through us-east-1 or us-west-2
- 60 undersea cables: Atlantic connectivity passes through US-controlled infrastructure
- Encryption key custody: US providers hold keys to government data
- Legal compulsion mechanisms: CLOUD Act, FISA 702, IEEPA, National Security Letters
- Service denial capability: Remote disable proven during Huawei sanctions
Intelligence Implications
- Diplomatic communications potentially exposed
- Security-cleared personnel data accessible
- Defence procurement and logistics visible
- Policy development documents vulnerable
- Foreign influence on technology supply chain
Recommended Security Actions
- Immediate: Enable BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) on all sensitive workloads
- Immediate: Implement sovereign backup for critical data
- Short-term: Classify workloads by sovereignty risk
- Medium-term: Migrate intelligence-adjacent workloads first
Supporting Documents
Public Communications
Audience: General Public, Media, Civil Society
Key Messages (Public-Friendly Language)
- Protecting your data: Government is ensuring citizen information stays under national control
- Building resilience: Reducing dependence on any single foreign technology provider
- Supporting local industry: Investment in domestic and European technology creates jobs
- Maintaining services: Migration ensures government services cannot be disrupted by foreign decisions
- International cooperation: Working with allies to build shared, secure infrastructure
Key Statistics
- 67% of global cloud market controlled by US companies (Q3 2025: AWS 29%, Azure 20%, GCP 13%, OCI 2%)
- Four jurisdictions cooperating: EU, UK, Canada, Australia
- Billions in annual cloud spend to be redirected to domestic/allied providers
- Multi-year programme with phased migration approach
Messaging Do's and Don'ts
| Do Say | Don't Say |
|---|---|
| "Strengthening digital resilience" | "US can shut us down" |
| "Diversifying technology partnerships" | "US is a threat" |
| "Ensuring data stays under national law" | "US government spying on citizens" |
| "Building domestic capability" | "Banning American companies" |
IT & Technology Leadership Briefing
Audience: CIOs, CTOs, Enterprise Architects, IT Directors
Technical Case Summary
- Architecture: Kubernetes-based, open standards, portable workloads
- Providers: European providers (OVHcloud, Scaleway, IONOS) meet enterprise requirements
- Migration path: Phased approach, starting with cloud-native and containerised workloads
- Skills: Kubernetes, OpenTofu, PostgreSQL - all transferable, widely available
- Timeline: 24 weeks (wartime emergency) / 5-7 years (peacetime) with quick wins in first 12 months
IT Leadership Actions
- Conduct inventory of US cloud dependencies in your department
- Identify candidate workloads for pilot migration
- Assess team skills gap for sovereign cloud operations
- Engage with programme team on migration planning
- Plan for parallel running during transition
Supporting Documents
Procurement & Finance Briefing
Audience: Treasury, Finance Ministry, Procurement Officers, Budget Holders
Financial Case Summary
- Risk mitigation value: Far exceeds migration cost when service disruption risk quantified
- Economic benefits: Redirects cloud spend to domestic/allied economies
- Cost sharing: Multi-national cooperation distributes investment burden
- Phased investment: Spread over 5-7 years (peacetime), with emergency mobilisation option (24 weeks wartime)
- Existing frameworks: European providers available on current procurement vehicles
Procurement Actions
- Review existing cloud contracts for termination clauses and lock-in
- Assess European providers on existing frameworks (G-Cloud, EU procurement)
- Establish sovereign cloud procurement category
- Include sovereignty criteria in future cloud procurements
- Plan contract transition timeline aligned with migration
Supporting Documents
Quick Reference: Key Facts
| Category | Fact |
|---|---|
| Market Share | 4 US providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI) control 67% of global cloud market (Q3 2025 data) |
| Legal Framework | CLOUD Act, FISA 702, IEEPA, Executive Orders enable US government compulsion |
| Control Planes | All providers route control through us-east-1 or us-west-2 |
| Connectivity | 60 undersea cables connect to US-controlled infrastructure |
| Partner Nations | EU, UK, Canada, Australia cooperating on framework |
| Programme Duration | 24 weeks (wartime emergency) / 5-7 years (peacetime) to complete US cloud exit |
| Precedents | Denmark (Microsoft exit), France (SecNumCloud), Germany (Bundescloud) |