European Tech Firms Profit as AI Shifts to Deployment

Established European technology and consulting firms are experiencing a surge in growth as corporations transition from experimenting with artificial intelligence to deploying it operationally. SAP SE reported a 26% increase in its cloud backlog to 22.9 billion euros and acquired Dremio and Prior Labs to enhance AI data accessibility. Similarly, Capgemini SE raised its annual growth target following a 9.2% increase in bookings, while Sopra Steria SE upgraded its outlook after organic growth accelerated to 5.3%.

The growth is driven by the technical complexity of integrating AI models into existing corporate software, fragmented databases, and strict governance frameworks, especially in healthcare, aerospace, and defense. Demand for European-controlled infrastructure to avoid U.S. extraterritorial laws has led to a 20.2% rise in public-cloud revenue for OVHcloud SAS.

Data sovereignty remains a critical priority for large industrial actors. Airbus SE is transitioning approximately 70 critical applications to Scaleway by 2028 to secure sensitive industrial and defense data. Arthur Sadoun, Chief Executive of Publicis, noted that clients now require AI models to operate in environments where they maintain full control over their technology and data.