7 Certified French Cloud Solutions For Your Business in 2025
12 min read
French cloud computing has emerged as a strategic necessity for businesses concerned about their digital sovereignty in 2025. Given the compliance risks associated with GDPR and the NIS 2 directive, we are witnessing a major transformation in the European technological landscape. Indeed, sovereign cloud now represents a credible alternative to the dominance of American hyperscalers. This French cloud storage model ensures that your sensitive data is hosted on national territory, thereby minimizing risks of unauthorized access and international cyber threats. For companies seeking French cloud computing solutions, this approach offers a significant competitive advantage while strengthening customer trust. In this context, the French government has launched the "France 2030" initiative, a €54 billion investment plan over five years to develop competitive European cloud solutions. As emphasized by Clara Chappaz, Minister of Digital Transition, "there is no sustainable economic prosperity without digital sovereignty." This vision is particularly crucial for sectors such as healthcare and defense, where data sensitivity is paramount. In this article, we present 7 certified French cloud hosting solutions that deserve your attention in 2025. We will begin with Drime, a 100% collaborative and secure solution, before exploring other options such as S3NS, NumSpot, OVHcloud, Oodrive, 3DS Outscale, and Scaleway - each offering solid guarantees for your sovereign cloud.
Drime
Drime stands out as an innovative French cloud solution entirely dedicated to collaboration and data security. Unlike traditional solutions, this French platform seamlessly combines storage and productivity features within an intuitive interface.
Why choose Drime for your business
Drime efficiently centralizes all stages of professional collaboration, from initial brainstorming to final client approvals. Indeed, this platform enables teams to work smoothly by adding precise comments directly on visual documents, videos, or PDFs, significantly simplifying the validation process.
The platform offers several pricing plans tailored to different professional needs:
Starter: €2.99/month with 500GB, ideal for individuals and independents
Essentials: €5.50/month with 2TB, perfect for freelancers
Professional: €10.99/month with 3TB, designed for medium-sized teams
Advanced: €19.99/month with 6TB, intended for large teams
Additionally, Drime offers a free version with 20GB of storage, allowing businesses to test the solution before committing to a paid subscription.
One of the most appreciated features remains the ability to track who has opened, viewed, or downloaded your files. This provides complete visibility over your collaborators' and clients' engagement with your shared documents.
Drime's Certifications and Compliance
Security is an absolute priority at Drime. Indeed, the service employs AES-256 encryption, a military-grade standard, to protect sensitive business data. This technology ensures that information remains impenetrable during both transit and storage.
Files are hosted in data centers certified according to the most stringent international standards, including:
ISO 27001 (information security management)
ISO 27017 (cloud security controls)
ISO 27018 (personal information protection)
ISO 27701 (privacy information management)
These certifications assure businesses that their data receives maximum protection, in compliance with European and French regulatory requirements. Moreover, this strict compliance enables organizations subject to specific sector obligations to deploy Drime with complete confidence.
Benefits of Drime for Sovereign Cloud
By choosing Drime as a sovereign cloud solution, French companies protect themselves against risks associated with U.S. extraterritorial legislation. In this regard, it's essential to understand that unlike American giants such as Google or Microsoft, Drime is not subject to the Cloud Act or FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act).
These American laws authorize authorities to access data hosted by any U.S. company, even those established abroad, through a simple court order. "In such cases, companies using GAFAM services are not informed and remain unaware that their data may leak or be exploited across the Atlantic," emphasizes a cybersecurity expert.
Another significant advantage is transparency. French cloud storage providers like Drime communicate clearly about their server locations and data storage conditions. This transparency allows companies to choose their hosting solution with full knowledge of the facts.
Drime also demonstrates a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, an aspect often overlooked in the cloud sector. The company dedicates 1% of its revenue to carbon dioxide elimination, actively contributing to reducing the digital industry's environmental footprint.
Customer feedback consistently highlights the exceptional quality of this French solution. As one user states: "Drime is by far the best cloud service I've experienced (significantly better than Google and Microsoft offerings). It includes essential drive functionalities that aren't commonly available elsewhere."
Data reversibility and interoperability stand out as major advantages of Drime's French cloud computing solution. Unlike American alternatives that sometimes charge prohibitive data migration costs (up to 200,000 euros according to some experts), Drime facilitates seamless information portability, eliminating any form of technological dependency.
Ultimately, by selecting a French cloud provider like Drime, businesses contribute to developing an independent European digital industry while benefiting from a technically advanced, secure solution that upholds digital sovereignty values.
S3NS (Thales + Google Cloud)
S3NS represents an innovative strategic partnership in the French cloud ecosystem, born from the alliance between Thales, France's cybersecurity leader, and Google Cloud, a global cloud technology giant. This unique collaboration aims to deliver a sovereign cloud solution meeting the French market's most stringent requirements.
Introduction to S3NS
Established in 2022, S3NS is a French-registered company fully controlled by Thales, though developed in partnership with Google Cloud. Its primary mission is to provide French public institutions and private enterprises with a cloud solution that safeguards their sensitive data while leveraging the technological prowess of Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
S3NS positions itself as a strategic response to the digital sovereignty challenges faced by French organizations. This initiative perfectly aligns with France's national cloud strategy, which aims to develop reliable digital infrastructures that comply with French regulatory requirements.
The leadership of S3NS comprises experienced professionals from the French technology sector. Initially, Walter Cappilati was appointed as President and Cyprien Falque as Chief Executive Officer. The company's headquarters is located in Paris, further strengthening its French territorial roots.
Currently, S3NS already serves more than 25 clients from various sectors, including Matmut, AGPM, Club Med, Thales, Birdz (a Veolia subsidiary), and B. Connect. This growing interest demonstrates the increasing demand for sovereign cloud solutions in France.
Hybrid Model and Sovereignty
S3NS's operational model is built on a unique hybrid approach, combining Google Cloud's technology with Thales's cybersecurity expertise. Specifically, S3NS offers an infrastructure based on Google Cloud technologies, but entirely operated, secured, and commercialized by S3NS.
This solution stands out through several essential features that guarantee data sovereignty:
Data and workload hosting exclusively in French datacenters, across three sites in the Paris region
Access restricted to S3NS personnel only, ensuring complete French control
Dual physical and logical data isolation, with separated networks, racks, and servers
Implementation of S3NS-developed and controlled technologies for encryption, monitoring, and identity management.
French law contracts with customers, providing tailored legal protection
Additionally, S3NS has developed a rigorous mechanism to manage technological updates from Google Cloud. These updates first go through a quarantine zone where they are analyzed and validated before being deployed to production. This process ensures that Google Cloud remains solely a technology provider, without ever accessing customer data.
In its initial phase, S3NS offers a solution called "Local Controls with S3NS," available since February 2023. This intermediate solution allows organizations to begin their transition to trusted cloud while already benefiting from certain data localization guarantees and technical support provided by European Union personnel.
Targeted SecNumCloud Certification
S3NS's primary ambition is to obtain SecNumCloud certification, the highest level of certification issued by the French government for cloud services. This certification, awarded by the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), attests to the quality, robustness, and trustworthiness of the cloud provider.
In July 2024, S3NS reached a decisive milestone by officially entering the SecNumCloud qualification process. ANSSI validated this entry by granting "J0" status, the first crucial step in the process. Subsequently, in December 2024, the company validated Milestone 1 (J1), thus confirming the soundness of its approach.
S3NS's timeline anticipates complete qualification by summer 2025. However, starting December 2024, the first "early adopter" customers will be able to deploy applications on this cloud infrastructure. These pioneering clients will benefit from multiple possibilities:
Deployment of existing applications to the cloud ("lift and shift")
Application modernization and creation of cloud-native applications
Large-scale data processing capabilities
Implementation of artificial intelligence use cases.
To facilitate companies' transition to this solution, S3NS has published a white paper titled "Anticipate your transition to trusted cloud." This document aims to guide organizations in optimizing their future deployments on this French cloud storage.
The SecNumCloud 3.2 certification targeted by S3NS includes requirements for immunity against extraterritorial laws, a fundamental aspect to ensure that sensitive data of French companies is not subject to foreign legislation such as the American Cloud Act.
While awaiting this final certification, organizations can already rely on S3NS's existing solutions to begin their journey toward truly sovereign French cloud computing, combining technological performance and data protection.
NumSpot
With the ambition to create a reference sovereign cloud, NumSpot emerges as a 100% French player, founded on a strategic alliance between four major national organizations. This cloud project, which aims for SecNumCloud qualification, offers a credible alternative for French companies concerned about their data sovereignty.
Origin and partners of NumSpot
NumSpot was established in October 2022 through the joint initiative of four major French companies from both public and private sectors: Banque des Territoires, Docaposte (La Poste Group's digital subsidiary), Dassault Systèmes, and Bouygues Telecom. This strategic alliance combines complementary expertise to develop an independent and robust French cloud offering.
The project benefits from strong territorial roots with entirely French shareholding, ensuring national governance over infrastructure and data. Moreover, this initiative perfectly aligns with France's digital sovereignty strategy, featuring a reversible and transparent cloud model primarily based on open source and European solutions.
Currently, approximately one hundred professionals are working on developing NumSpot's managed products and services catalog. The company plans to commercially launch its service platform - including IaaS and PaaS offerings - in the first quarter of 2025, following a beta testing phase.
Key Features for Businesses
NumSpot offers a comprehensive French cloud computing platform, integrating managed infrastructure (IaaS) and platform services (PaaS). The solution is built upon OUTSCALE's IaaS infrastructure (a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary) which holds SecNumCloud qualification.
The platform services offered include:
Kubernetes: an open-source system for automating deployment and management of containerized applications
OpenShift: a container orchestrator ensuring dedicated and isolated workspace
PostgreSQL: an open-source relational database engine known for its robustness
NumSpot distinguishes itself through an integrated user experience, providing a unified command console that centralizes all services (IaaS, PaaS, and soon SaaS) in a single location. This approach facilitates the interconnection of different services while ensuring coherent identity management.
The platform primarily targets four strategic markets: the public sector, healthcare, financial services (banking-insurance), and operators of vital importance or essential services (OIV/OSE). Several client references have already been announced, including CNP Assurances, France Services, and the Hospital IT Purchasing Center.
GDPR Compliance and Security
Regarding security and compliance, NumSpot is committed to a rigorous approach with SecNumCloud qualification as its primary objective. The company has already reached a significant milestone by obtaining the J1 milestone of this process, validating its evaluation strategy.
The services covered by this qualification include the encapsulation of Outscale's IaaS layer and the entire foundational layer of NumSpot's service offerings, including Compute services (VMs, storage, and networks), ObjectStorage (S3-type), and the identity management solution.
Beyond SecNumCloud, NumSpot is also pursuing HDS certification (Health Data Host) for the first half of 2025, specifically addressing the needs of the medical sector.
The solution ensures complete GDPR compliance through several essential measures:
Data localization exclusively in France with three sovereign regions
100% European personnel managing the infrastructure
Protection against extraterritorial laws
Complete data traceability
Physical, operational, and contractual security of infrastructure
Thus, NumSpot provides French companies with a French cloud storage solution that perfectly addresses digital sovereignty challenges while offering public cloud benefits: pay-per-use pricing, degressive rates based on commitment duration, and no entry or exit fees.
The solution is already recognized by major purchasing centers such as C.A.I.H., RESAH, and UGAP, facilitating its adoption by hospitals, administrative bodies, and local authorities.
OVHcloud
As the European leader in French cloud computing, OVHcloud stands out as a pure cloud player, maintaining complete independence without competing with its clients' activities. With nearly a billion euros in revenue (€993.1M in 2024), the Roubaix-based company has secured a prominent position in the French and European digital ecosystem.
Market Position in France
In a landscape dominated by American giants, OVHcloud maintains steady growth, particularly in sovereign cloud services. The first quarter of 2024 showed a remarkable 12% increase in revenue, reaching €240 million. This performance is particularly driven by strong growth in both public cloud (18.9%) and private cloud (14.9%) sectors.
However, OVHcloud's position in the French public cloud infrastructure market remains modest compared to American tech giants. According to a study by Markess by Exaegis, the company ranks fifth with only 2.6% market share in 2022, significantly behind Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce, who collectively control 74.6% of the market.
Nevertheless, OVHcloud dominates the private cloud market, estimated at approximately 2 billion euros in 2022. This dual strategy enables them to address diverse needs of French businesses, whether they require highly secure private infrastructures or innovative public cloud services.
The company continuously expands its portfolio, now offering 40 public cloud products and services. Additionally, OVHcloud has announced three availability zones for these services, starting with Paris, followed by Milan in 2025, and expanding to the United States and other regions including Sydney and Singapore.
Certifications and Security
Security stands as one of the fundamental pillars of OVHcloud's French cloud provider offering. The company has obtained the SecNumCloud security visa, issued by the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI). This certification represents the highest standard in security and protection against cyberattacks and extraterritorial authority access.
OVHcloud also maintains a comprehensive portfolio of international certifications:
ISO/IEC 27001:2017 for information security management, obtained in 2013
ISO/IEC 27017:2015 specific to cloud security controls
ISO/IEC 27018:2019 for personal information protection
Regarding infrastructure, OVHcloud ensures high resilience with dual power sources for all its datacenters, supplemented by generators providing 24 to 48 hours of autonomy. Integrated Anti-DDoS protection and advanced detection systems strengthen this security architecture.
Recently, in March 2025, the company extended its SecNumCloud qualification to its Bare Metal Pod offering, ensuring complete data isolation. This certification meets over 360 criteria covering technical, organizational, and legal aspects.
Use Cases in the Public Sector
OVHcloud's French cloud storage particularly addresses the needs of the public sector, which faces significant challenges in protecting confidential data, ensuring security, and managing budgets. The company has constructed two new datacenters within the European Union exclusively dedicated to secure storage of sensitive data.
A concrete example is the State Financial Information Agency (AIFE) utilizing OVHcloud's Bare Metal Pod solution to host its Public Billing Portal. This implementation enables administrations to comply with the "Cloud First" doctrine established in 2021, which mandates that personal and sensitive administrative data must be hosted on a SecNumCloud-qualified infrastructure.
OVHcloud also offers the OVHCloud Marketplace, featuring over 250 turnkey digital solutions developed by French tech companies. These solutions are hosted in OVHcloud's French and European datacenters, ensuring the sovereignty of public data.
Furthermore, the company is listed in various public procurement frameworks, including UGAP in France, G-Cloud in the United Kingdom, AgID in Italy, and European Commission institutions (DPS 1 MC5). This institutional presence reinforces OVHcloud's recognition as a trusted partner for French cloud computing.
Oodrive
As a pioneer in secure cloud services in France, Oodrive offers a SecNumCloud-qualified collaborative suite, ensuring a high level of protection for sensitive data of businesses and public organizations. With over 2.5 million professionals using its solutions, this French company has established itself as a key player in sovereign cloud services.
Certified SaaS Solutions
Oodrive distinguished itself as the first French software publisher to achieve SecNumCloud qualification for all its private cloud offerings in 2019, with certification renewed in 2022 for three years. In 2025, the company reached a new milestone by obtaining SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification for its SaaS solutions Oodrive Work and Oodrive Meet, becoming the only provider offering an end-to-end qualified collaborative SaaS solution.
Its certification portfolio also includes:
ISO 27001:2013 certifying best practices in protection and security
HDS Certification (Health Data Host) for secure management of medical data
eIDAS compliance enabling legally valid electronic signature solutions
The Oodrive collaborative suite provides a comprehensive work environment for co-editing and sharing sensitive documents, implementing electronic signatures, organizing governance meetings, and precisely managing document access rights. Moreover, all functionalities are hosted on a secure French cloud, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of processed data.
Public Sector Implementation
The French public sector represents a key market for Oodrive. According to the "Cloud First" doctrine established by the government, administrations must host their sensitive data on SecNumCloud-qualified solutions. Thus, Oodrive supports central administrations, local authorities, and territories in their digital transformation while protecting citizens' data.
A concrete example is the Ministry of Armed Forces, which has been collaborating with Oodrive since 2014. The ministry utilizes the Oodrive Work solution, branded as "Defense Drive," to exchange files on its secure internal network. Initially deployed internally, this solution was expanded to enable remote access during the pandemic, allowing authorized users to store and share various file types.
Additionally, the Bordeaux Metropolitan Water Authority (REBM) has also adopted Oodrive's solutions to ensure business continuity, protect sensitive data against disasters, and meet ANSSI requirements imposed on public organizations.
Data Privacy Benefits
Data protection is an absolute priority for this French cloud provider. Oodrive formally commits to never monetize its clients' personal data and prohibits any resale to third parties. This policy is part of a comprehensive privacy by design and by default approach, in accordance with Article 25 of GDPR.
All data is encrypted, both in transit and at rest, to prevent unauthorized access. Furthermore, the company has chosen a French hosting provider, Gandi, with datacenters located in France, thus avoiding any transfers to the United States in compliance with the "Schrems II" ruling that invalidated the Privacy Shield.
Finally, Oodrive has implemented several measures to strengthen the security of its French cloud storage:
A dedicated SOC team for incident management
Regular penetration testing to identify potential vulnerabilities
Personal data anonymization techniques
Continuous employee awareness training on GDPR principles
These measures make Oodrive a trusted partner for sensitive businesses and administrations seeking to benefit from sovereign and secure French cloud computing services.
3DS Outscale
3DS Outscale, the first cloud operator to receive the SecNumCloud 3.2 certification for its Public Cloud services, exemplifies French excellence in digital sovereignty. Its unique position in the French cloud market enables it to offer a credible alternative to foreign hyperscalers for sensitive data management.
Dassault Systèmes Subsidiary
Founded in 2010 and later becoming a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary, 3DS Outscale was initially developed to manage the group's Cloud solutions. This industrial heritage provides it with specialized expertise in interactive, high-performance business applications. Dassault Systèmes utilizes Outscale's services to deliver its solutions 24/7, particularly its 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
In 2022, the brand evolved to become OUTSCALE, positioning itself as the first sovereign and sustainable experience-as-a-service operator. Its essential mission? Enabling financial sector companies, healthcare organizations, and public entities to fully harness the potential of data and AI.
Sovereign Cloud Infrastructure
The infrastructure of this sovereign cloud ensures that all data processing and hosting operations are conducted exclusively within French territory. Indeed, OUTSCALE implements a model where data is entirely stored and processed in France, thus ensuring immunity from extraterritorial laws.
Recently, the company launched two major offerings:
LLMaaS (Large Language Models as a Service): A unique generative AI solution meeting the highest security standards
OKS (Outscale Kubernetes as a Service): A managed Cloud platform for container-based application management and automation
Compliance with European Standards
Compliance represents a fundamental pillar for this French cloud provider. OUTSCALE has maintained ISO 27001 certification for several years, demonstrating its commitment to information security. Furthermore, the company meticulously adheres to GDPR requirements through concrete measures such as:
Transparent communication regarding data collection
Appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Respect for the right to be forgotten and data portability
Additionally, OUTSCALE actively participates in the European Commission's DOME project, an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a European Cloud marketplace. This involvement confirms its key role in building a sovereign digital ecosystem at the continental level.
Scaleway
A subsidiary of the Iliad group, Scaleway embodies the European alternative to American cloud giants by offering sovereign infrastructure solutions while promoting technological innovation and environmental responsibility.
Scaleway's Sovereign Cloud Offering
Scaleway provides a comprehensive cloud infrastructure with ten data centers located across Europe, including four in France. The company has developed a resilient architecture comprising nine availability zones spread across three regions (Paris, Amsterdam, and Warsaw), thus ensuring complete redundancy for its clients' data. This configuration provides optimal protection against outages and cyber attacks.
In terms of certifications, Scaleway has obtained ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and HDS accreditation for hosting healthcare data. Additionally, the company has initiated the SecNumCloud qualification process, achieving the "J0" milestone in January 2025, with full certification expected by the end of 2025. This approach strengthens its position as a trusted French cloud storage provider.
Commitment to Digital Sovereignty
Scaleway positions itself as "the most sovereign of European sovereign clouds." This claim is founded on several fundamental pillars: an internally developed software stack, servers designed and assembled in France, exclusively European personnel, and complete immunity from extraterritorial laws.
Unlike hybrid solutions, Scaleway offers comprehensive sovereignty without compromise. "We don't use VMware like OVHcloud, Google like S3NS, or Azure like Bleu," explains Damien Lucas, CEO of Scaleway.
Moreover, the company actively pursues environmental sustainability by powering its data centers exclusively with renewable energy and minimizing water usage. Their energy efficiency indicator is available in real-time, demonstrating exemplary transparency.
Partnerships and Ecosystem
Scaleway has launched an ambitious partner program and a new marketplace to expand its ecosystem. These initiatives enable more than 20 partners to market Scaleway solutions to their clients, while the marketplace, launching in 2025, will offer essential add-on modules in monitoring, security, and developer tools.
Strategic collaborations, such as the partnership with WeScale, a company specializing in digital architecture modernization, enhance Scaleway's technical expertise. This collaborative approach aims to support technological innovation while ensuring sovereign and ethical French cloud computing.
Conclusion
Conclusion: Choosing the Ideal Cloud Solution for Your Business
Digital sovereignty has become a strategic priority for organizations worldwide. Through this overview of seven certified French cloud solutions, we witness the emergence of a robust ecosystem capable of meeting the strictest security and compliance requirements.
Drime clearly stands out among these solutions with its unique collaborative approach and impeccable security. Its intuitive interface, advanced PDF editing capabilities, and electronic signature system provide a comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes. The ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701 certifications also demonstrate its commitment to protecting sensitive data.
Other players like S3NS, NumSpot, OVHcloud, Oodrive, 3DS Outscale, and Scaleway certainly offer interesting alternatives, each with its own specificities. However, none combines collaboration and security as effectively as Drime in such an accessible solution.
Choosing a French cloud becomes particularly crucial in light of new regulations such as the NIS 2 directive and GDPR. Indeed, these legal frameworks require enhanced protection of personal data and complete transparency regarding their location.
Above all, the fundamental question remains one of trust. A trustworthy cloud provider must guarantee not only the technical security of your data but also its immunity from extraterritorial legislation like the American Cloud Act.
Ultimately, transitioning to a sovereign cloud represents a strategic investment in your company's future. Drime, with its free 20 GB offer to test the service, allows you to initiate this approach without commitment. Subsequently, its flexible plans adapt to your evolving needs, from the Starter package at €2.99/month to customized Enterprise solutions.
The future of French digital sovereignty is being built today, and your choice of cloud provider will play a decisive role in this evolution. However, it is only by adopting truly sovereign solutions like Drime that we can collectively guarantee the digital independence of our organizations and, by extension, that of our nation.
FAQs
Q1. What is a sovereign cloud and why is it important for French companies?
A sovereign cloud is a data hosting solution entirely controlled by national entities, ensuring that data remains within French territory and is protected from extraterritorial laws. It is crucial for French companies as it guarantees the confidentiality of sensitive data and compliance with European regulations such as GDPR.
Q2. What are the advantages of choosing a certified French cloud solution?
Certified French cloud solutions provide enhanced data protection, compliance with national security standards, immunity from foreign laws, and local technical support. They also contribute to the country's digital sovereignty and foster the development of the French technological ecosystem.
Q3. How do French cloud solutions compare to American cloud giants?
French cloud solutions distinguish themselves through their commitment to data sovereignty, local certifications (such as SecNumCloud), and compliance with European regulations. While they may have fewer global resources, they often provide better adaptation to specific French and European market needs.
Q4. Which certifications should I look for when choosing a French cloud provider?
Key certifications to look for include SecNumCloud (issued by ANSSI), ISO 27001 for information security management, HDS for health data hosting, and GDPR compliance. These certifications ensure high levels of security and regulatory compliance.
Q5. How do French cloud solutions support business innovation and competitiveness?
French cloud solutions promote innovation by offering platforms tailored to local needs, supporting the development of emerging technologies like AI, and facilitating collaboration between French companies. They enhance competitiveness by securing strategic data and enabling businesses to easily comply with European regulations.
French cloud computing has emerged as a strategic necessity for businesses concerned about their digital sovereignty in 2025. Given the compliance risks associated with GDPR and the NIS 2 directive, we are witnessing a major transformation in the European technological landscape. Indeed, sovereign cloud now represents a credible alternative to the dominance of American hyperscalers. This French cloud storage model ensures that your sensitive data is hosted on national territory, thereby minimizing risks of unauthorized access and international cyber threats. For companies seeking French cloud computing solutions, this approach offers a significant competitive advantage while strengthening customer trust. In this context, the French government has launched the "France 2030" initiative, a €54 billion investment plan over five years to develop competitive European cloud solutions. As emphasized by Clara Chappaz, Minister of Digital Transition, "there is no sustainable economic prosperity without digital sovereignty." This vision is particularly crucial for sectors such as healthcare and defense, where data sensitivity is paramount. In this article, we present 7 certified French cloud hosting solutions that deserve your attention in 2025. We will begin with Drime, a 100% collaborative and secure solution, before exploring other options such as S3NS, NumSpot, OVHcloud, Oodrive, 3DS Outscale, and Scaleway - each offering solid guarantees for your sovereign cloud.
Drime
Drime stands out as an innovative French cloud solution entirely dedicated to collaboration and data security. Unlike traditional solutions, this French platform seamlessly combines storage and productivity features within an intuitive interface.
Why choose Drime for your business
Drime efficiently centralizes all stages of professional collaboration, from initial brainstorming to final client approvals. Indeed, this platform enables teams to work smoothly by adding precise comments directly on visual documents, videos, or PDFs, significantly simplifying the validation process.
The platform offers several pricing plans tailored to different professional needs:
Starter: €2.99/month with 500GB, ideal for individuals and independents
Essentials: €5.50/month with 2TB, perfect for freelancers
Professional: €10.99/month with 3TB, designed for medium-sized teams
Advanced: €19.99/month with 6TB, intended for large teams
Additionally, Drime offers a free version with 20GB of storage, allowing businesses to test the solution before committing to a paid subscription.
One of the most appreciated features remains the ability to track who has opened, viewed, or downloaded your files. This provides complete visibility over your collaborators' and clients' engagement with your shared documents.
Drime's Certifications and Compliance
Security is an absolute priority at Drime. Indeed, the service employs AES-256 encryption, a military-grade standard, to protect sensitive business data. This technology ensures that information remains impenetrable during both transit and storage.
Files are hosted in data centers certified according to the most stringent international standards, including:
ISO 27001 (information security management)
ISO 27017 (cloud security controls)
ISO 27018 (personal information protection)
ISO 27701 (privacy information management)
These certifications assure businesses that their data receives maximum protection, in compliance with European and French regulatory requirements. Moreover, this strict compliance enables organizations subject to specific sector obligations to deploy Drime with complete confidence.
Benefits of Drime for Sovereign Cloud
By choosing Drime as a sovereign cloud solution, French companies protect themselves against risks associated with U.S. extraterritorial legislation. In this regard, it's essential to understand that unlike American giants such as Google or Microsoft, Drime is not subject to the Cloud Act or FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act).
These American laws authorize authorities to access data hosted by any U.S. company, even those established abroad, through a simple court order. "In such cases, companies using GAFAM services are not informed and remain unaware that their data may leak or be exploited across the Atlantic," emphasizes a cybersecurity expert.
Another significant advantage is transparency. French cloud storage providers like Drime communicate clearly about their server locations and data storage conditions. This transparency allows companies to choose their hosting solution with full knowledge of the facts.
Drime also demonstrates a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, an aspect often overlooked in the cloud sector. The company dedicates 1% of its revenue to carbon dioxide elimination, actively contributing to reducing the digital industry's environmental footprint.
Customer feedback consistently highlights the exceptional quality of this French solution. As one user states: "Drime is by far the best cloud service I've experienced (significantly better than Google and Microsoft offerings). It includes essential drive functionalities that aren't commonly available elsewhere."
Data reversibility and interoperability stand out as major advantages of Drime's French cloud computing solution. Unlike American alternatives that sometimes charge prohibitive data migration costs (up to 200,000 euros according to some experts), Drime facilitates seamless information portability, eliminating any form of technological dependency.
Ultimately, by selecting a French cloud provider like Drime, businesses contribute to developing an independent European digital industry while benefiting from a technically advanced, secure solution that upholds digital sovereignty values.
S3NS (Thales + Google Cloud)
S3NS represents an innovative strategic partnership in the French cloud ecosystem, born from the alliance between Thales, France's cybersecurity leader, and Google Cloud, a global cloud technology giant. This unique collaboration aims to deliver a sovereign cloud solution meeting the French market's most stringent requirements.
Introduction to S3NS
Established in 2022, S3NS is a French-registered company fully controlled by Thales, though developed in partnership with Google Cloud. Its primary mission is to provide French public institutions and private enterprises with a cloud solution that safeguards their sensitive data while leveraging the technological prowess of Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
S3NS positions itself as a strategic response to the digital sovereignty challenges faced by French organizations. This initiative perfectly aligns with France's national cloud strategy, which aims to develop reliable digital infrastructures that comply with French regulatory requirements.
The leadership of S3NS comprises experienced professionals from the French technology sector. Initially, Walter Cappilati was appointed as President and Cyprien Falque as Chief Executive Officer. The company's headquarters is located in Paris, further strengthening its French territorial roots.
Currently, S3NS already serves more than 25 clients from various sectors, including Matmut, AGPM, Club Med, Thales, Birdz (a Veolia subsidiary), and B. Connect. This growing interest demonstrates the increasing demand for sovereign cloud solutions in France.
Hybrid Model and Sovereignty
S3NS's operational model is built on a unique hybrid approach, combining Google Cloud's technology with Thales's cybersecurity expertise. Specifically, S3NS offers an infrastructure based on Google Cloud technologies, but entirely operated, secured, and commercialized by S3NS.
This solution stands out through several essential features that guarantee data sovereignty:
Data and workload hosting exclusively in French datacenters, across three sites in the Paris region
Access restricted to S3NS personnel only, ensuring complete French control
Dual physical and logical data isolation, with separated networks, racks, and servers
Implementation of S3NS-developed and controlled technologies for encryption, monitoring, and identity management.
French law contracts with customers, providing tailored legal protection
Additionally, S3NS has developed a rigorous mechanism to manage technological updates from Google Cloud. These updates first go through a quarantine zone where they are analyzed and validated before being deployed to production. This process ensures that Google Cloud remains solely a technology provider, without ever accessing customer data.
In its initial phase, S3NS offers a solution called "Local Controls with S3NS," available since February 2023. This intermediate solution allows organizations to begin their transition to trusted cloud while already benefiting from certain data localization guarantees and technical support provided by European Union personnel.
Targeted SecNumCloud Certification
S3NS's primary ambition is to obtain SecNumCloud certification, the highest level of certification issued by the French government for cloud services. This certification, awarded by the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI), attests to the quality, robustness, and trustworthiness of the cloud provider.
In July 2024, S3NS reached a decisive milestone by officially entering the SecNumCloud qualification process. ANSSI validated this entry by granting "J0" status, the first crucial step in the process. Subsequently, in December 2024, the company validated Milestone 1 (J1), thus confirming the soundness of its approach.
S3NS's timeline anticipates complete qualification by summer 2025. However, starting December 2024, the first "early adopter" customers will be able to deploy applications on this cloud infrastructure. These pioneering clients will benefit from multiple possibilities:
Deployment of existing applications to the cloud ("lift and shift")
Application modernization and creation of cloud-native applications
Large-scale data processing capabilities
Implementation of artificial intelligence use cases.
To facilitate companies' transition to this solution, S3NS has published a white paper titled "Anticipate your transition to trusted cloud." This document aims to guide organizations in optimizing their future deployments on this French cloud storage.
The SecNumCloud 3.2 certification targeted by S3NS includes requirements for immunity against extraterritorial laws, a fundamental aspect to ensure that sensitive data of French companies is not subject to foreign legislation such as the American Cloud Act.
While awaiting this final certification, organizations can already rely on S3NS's existing solutions to begin their journey toward truly sovereign French cloud computing, combining technological performance and data protection.
NumSpot
With the ambition to create a reference sovereign cloud, NumSpot emerges as a 100% French player, founded on a strategic alliance between four major national organizations. This cloud project, which aims for SecNumCloud qualification, offers a credible alternative for French companies concerned about their data sovereignty.
Origin and partners of NumSpot
NumSpot was established in October 2022 through the joint initiative of four major French companies from both public and private sectors: Banque des Territoires, Docaposte (La Poste Group's digital subsidiary), Dassault Systèmes, and Bouygues Telecom. This strategic alliance combines complementary expertise to develop an independent and robust French cloud offering.
The project benefits from strong territorial roots with entirely French shareholding, ensuring national governance over infrastructure and data. Moreover, this initiative perfectly aligns with France's digital sovereignty strategy, featuring a reversible and transparent cloud model primarily based on open source and European solutions.
Currently, approximately one hundred professionals are working on developing NumSpot's managed products and services catalog. The company plans to commercially launch its service platform - including IaaS and PaaS offerings - in the first quarter of 2025, following a beta testing phase.
Key Features for Businesses
NumSpot offers a comprehensive French cloud computing platform, integrating managed infrastructure (IaaS) and platform services (PaaS). The solution is built upon OUTSCALE's IaaS infrastructure (a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary) which holds SecNumCloud qualification.
The platform services offered include:
Kubernetes: an open-source system for automating deployment and management of containerized applications
OpenShift: a container orchestrator ensuring dedicated and isolated workspace
PostgreSQL: an open-source relational database engine known for its robustness
NumSpot distinguishes itself through an integrated user experience, providing a unified command console that centralizes all services (IaaS, PaaS, and soon SaaS) in a single location. This approach facilitates the interconnection of different services while ensuring coherent identity management.
The platform primarily targets four strategic markets: the public sector, healthcare, financial services (banking-insurance), and operators of vital importance or essential services (OIV/OSE). Several client references have already been announced, including CNP Assurances, France Services, and the Hospital IT Purchasing Center.
GDPR Compliance and Security
Regarding security and compliance, NumSpot is committed to a rigorous approach with SecNumCloud qualification as its primary objective. The company has already reached a significant milestone by obtaining the J1 milestone of this process, validating its evaluation strategy.
The services covered by this qualification include the encapsulation of Outscale's IaaS layer and the entire foundational layer of NumSpot's service offerings, including Compute services (VMs, storage, and networks), ObjectStorage (S3-type), and the identity management solution.
Beyond SecNumCloud, NumSpot is also pursuing HDS certification (Health Data Host) for the first half of 2025, specifically addressing the needs of the medical sector.
The solution ensures complete GDPR compliance through several essential measures:
Data localization exclusively in France with three sovereign regions
100% European personnel managing the infrastructure
Protection against extraterritorial laws
Complete data traceability
Physical, operational, and contractual security of infrastructure
Thus, NumSpot provides French companies with a French cloud storage solution that perfectly addresses digital sovereignty challenges while offering public cloud benefits: pay-per-use pricing, degressive rates based on commitment duration, and no entry or exit fees.
The solution is already recognized by major purchasing centers such as C.A.I.H., RESAH, and UGAP, facilitating its adoption by hospitals, administrative bodies, and local authorities.
OVHcloud
As the European leader in French cloud computing, OVHcloud stands out as a pure cloud player, maintaining complete independence without competing with its clients' activities. With nearly a billion euros in revenue (€993.1M in 2024), the Roubaix-based company has secured a prominent position in the French and European digital ecosystem.
Market Position in France
In a landscape dominated by American giants, OVHcloud maintains steady growth, particularly in sovereign cloud services. The first quarter of 2024 showed a remarkable 12% increase in revenue, reaching €240 million. This performance is particularly driven by strong growth in both public cloud (18.9%) and private cloud (14.9%) sectors.
However, OVHcloud's position in the French public cloud infrastructure market remains modest compared to American tech giants. According to a study by Markess by Exaegis, the company ranks fifth with only 2.6% market share in 2022, significantly behind Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce, who collectively control 74.6% of the market.
Nevertheless, OVHcloud dominates the private cloud market, estimated at approximately 2 billion euros in 2022. This dual strategy enables them to address diverse needs of French businesses, whether they require highly secure private infrastructures or innovative public cloud services.
The company continuously expands its portfolio, now offering 40 public cloud products and services. Additionally, OVHcloud has announced three availability zones for these services, starting with Paris, followed by Milan in 2025, and expanding to the United States and other regions including Sydney and Singapore.
Certifications and Security
Security stands as one of the fundamental pillars of OVHcloud's French cloud provider offering. The company has obtained the SecNumCloud security visa, issued by the National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI). This certification represents the highest standard in security and protection against cyberattacks and extraterritorial authority access.
OVHcloud also maintains a comprehensive portfolio of international certifications:
ISO/IEC 27001:2017 for information security management, obtained in 2013
ISO/IEC 27017:2015 specific to cloud security controls
ISO/IEC 27018:2019 for personal information protection
Regarding infrastructure, OVHcloud ensures high resilience with dual power sources for all its datacenters, supplemented by generators providing 24 to 48 hours of autonomy. Integrated Anti-DDoS protection and advanced detection systems strengthen this security architecture.
Recently, in March 2025, the company extended its SecNumCloud qualification to its Bare Metal Pod offering, ensuring complete data isolation. This certification meets over 360 criteria covering technical, organizational, and legal aspects.
Use Cases in the Public Sector
OVHcloud's French cloud storage particularly addresses the needs of the public sector, which faces significant challenges in protecting confidential data, ensuring security, and managing budgets. The company has constructed two new datacenters within the European Union exclusively dedicated to secure storage of sensitive data.
A concrete example is the State Financial Information Agency (AIFE) utilizing OVHcloud's Bare Metal Pod solution to host its Public Billing Portal. This implementation enables administrations to comply with the "Cloud First" doctrine established in 2021, which mandates that personal and sensitive administrative data must be hosted on a SecNumCloud-qualified infrastructure.
OVHcloud also offers the OVHCloud Marketplace, featuring over 250 turnkey digital solutions developed by French tech companies. These solutions are hosted in OVHcloud's French and European datacenters, ensuring the sovereignty of public data.
Furthermore, the company is listed in various public procurement frameworks, including UGAP in France, G-Cloud in the United Kingdom, AgID in Italy, and European Commission institutions (DPS 1 MC5). This institutional presence reinforces OVHcloud's recognition as a trusted partner for French cloud computing.
Oodrive
As a pioneer in secure cloud services in France, Oodrive offers a SecNumCloud-qualified collaborative suite, ensuring a high level of protection for sensitive data of businesses and public organizations. With over 2.5 million professionals using its solutions, this French company has established itself as a key player in sovereign cloud services.
Certified SaaS Solutions
Oodrive distinguished itself as the first French software publisher to achieve SecNumCloud qualification for all its private cloud offerings in 2019, with certification renewed in 2022 for three years. In 2025, the company reached a new milestone by obtaining SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification for its SaaS solutions Oodrive Work and Oodrive Meet, becoming the only provider offering an end-to-end qualified collaborative SaaS solution.
Its certification portfolio also includes:
ISO 27001:2013 certifying best practices in protection and security
HDS Certification (Health Data Host) for secure management of medical data
eIDAS compliance enabling legally valid electronic signature solutions
The Oodrive collaborative suite provides a comprehensive work environment for co-editing and sharing sensitive documents, implementing electronic signatures, organizing governance meetings, and precisely managing document access rights. Moreover, all functionalities are hosted on a secure French cloud, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of processed data.
Public Sector Implementation
The French public sector represents a key market for Oodrive. According to the "Cloud First" doctrine established by the government, administrations must host their sensitive data on SecNumCloud-qualified solutions. Thus, Oodrive supports central administrations, local authorities, and territories in their digital transformation while protecting citizens' data.
A concrete example is the Ministry of Armed Forces, which has been collaborating with Oodrive since 2014. The ministry utilizes the Oodrive Work solution, branded as "Defense Drive," to exchange files on its secure internal network. Initially deployed internally, this solution was expanded to enable remote access during the pandemic, allowing authorized users to store and share various file types.
Additionally, the Bordeaux Metropolitan Water Authority (REBM) has also adopted Oodrive's solutions to ensure business continuity, protect sensitive data against disasters, and meet ANSSI requirements imposed on public organizations.
Data Privacy Benefits
Data protection is an absolute priority for this French cloud provider. Oodrive formally commits to never monetize its clients' personal data and prohibits any resale to third parties. This policy is part of a comprehensive privacy by design and by default approach, in accordance with Article 25 of GDPR.
All data is encrypted, both in transit and at rest, to prevent unauthorized access. Furthermore, the company has chosen a French hosting provider, Gandi, with datacenters located in France, thus avoiding any transfers to the United States in compliance with the "Schrems II" ruling that invalidated the Privacy Shield.
Finally, Oodrive has implemented several measures to strengthen the security of its French cloud storage:
A dedicated SOC team for incident management
Regular penetration testing to identify potential vulnerabilities
Personal data anonymization techniques
Continuous employee awareness training on GDPR principles
These measures make Oodrive a trusted partner for sensitive businesses and administrations seeking to benefit from sovereign and secure French cloud computing services.
3DS Outscale
3DS Outscale, the first cloud operator to receive the SecNumCloud 3.2 certification for its Public Cloud services, exemplifies French excellence in digital sovereignty. Its unique position in the French cloud market enables it to offer a credible alternative to foreign hyperscalers for sensitive data management.
Dassault Systèmes Subsidiary
Founded in 2010 and later becoming a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary, 3DS Outscale was initially developed to manage the group's Cloud solutions. This industrial heritage provides it with specialized expertise in interactive, high-performance business applications. Dassault Systèmes utilizes Outscale's services to deliver its solutions 24/7, particularly its 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
In 2022, the brand evolved to become OUTSCALE, positioning itself as the first sovereign and sustainable experience-as-a-service operator. Its essential mission? Enabling financial sector companies, healthcare organizations, and public entities to fully harness the potential of data and AI.
Sovereign Cloud Infrastructure
The infrastructure of this sovereign cloud ensures that all data processing and hosting operations are conducted exclusively within French territory. Indeed, OUTSCALE implements a model where data is entirely stored and processed in France, thus ensuring immunity from extraterritorial laws.
Recently, the company launched two major offerings:
LLMaaS (Large Language Models as a Service): A unique generative AI solution meeting the highest security standards
OKS (Outscale Kubernetes as a Service): A managed Cloud platform for container-based application management and automation
Compliance with European Standards
Compliance represents a fundamental pillar for this French cloud provider. OUTSCALE has maintained ISO 27001 certification for several years, demonstrating its commitment to information security. Furthermore, the company meticulously adheres to GDPR requirements through concrete measures such as:
Transparent communication regarding data collection
Appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Respect for the right to be forgotten and data portability
Additionally, OUTSCALE actively participates in the European Commission's DOME project, an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a European Cloud marketplace. This involvement confirms its key role in building a sovereign digital ecosystem at the continental level.
Scaleway
A subsidiary of the Iliad group, Scaleway embodies the European alternative to American cloud giants by offering sovereign infrastructure solutions while promoting technological innovation and environmental responsibility.
Scaleway's Sovereign Cloud Offering
Scaleway provides a comprehensive cloud infrastructure with ten data centers located across Europe, including four in France. The company has developed a resilient architecture comprising nine availability zones spread across three regions (Paris, Amsterdam, and Warsaw), thus ensuring complete redundancy for its clients' data. This configuration provides optimal protection against outages and cyber attacks.
In terms of certifications, Scaleway has obtained ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and HDS accreditation for hosting healthcare data. Additionally, the company has initiated the SecNumCloud qualification process, achieving the "J0" milestone in January 2025, with full certification expected by the end of 2025. This approach strengthens its position as a trusted French cloud storage provider.
Commitment to Digital Sovereignty
Scaleway positions itself as "the most sovereign of European sovereign clouds." This claim is founded on several fundamental pillars: an internally developed software stack, servers designed and assembled in France, exclusively European personnel, and complete immunity from extraterritorial laws.
Unlike hybrid solutions, Scaleway offers comprehensive sovereignty without compromise. "We don't use VMware like OVHcloud, Google like S3NS, or Azure like Bleu," explains Damien Lucas, CEO of Scaleway.
Moreover, the company actively pursues environmental sustainability by powering its data centers exclusively with renewable energy and minimizing water usage. Their energy efficiency indicator is available in real-time, demonstrating exemplary transparency.
Partnerships and Ecosystem
Scaleway has launched an ambitious partner program and a new marketplace to expand its ecosystem. These initiatives enable more than 20 partners to market Scaleway solutions to their clients, while the marketplace, launching in 2025, will offer essential add-on modules in monitoring, security, and developer tools.
Strategic collaborations, such as the partnership with WeScale, a company specializing in digital architecture modernization, enhance Scaleway's technical expertise. This collaborative approach aims to support technological innovation while ensuring sovereign and ethical French cloud computing.
Conclusion
Conclusion: Choosing the Ideal Cloud Solution for Your Business
Digital sovereignty has become a strategic priority for organizations worldwide. Through this overview of seven certified French cloud solutions, we witness the emergence of a robust ecosystem capable of meeting the strictest security and compliance requirements.
Drime clearly stands out among these solutions with its unique collaborative approach and impeccable security. Its intuitive interface, advanced PDF editing capabilities, and electronic signature system provide a comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes. The ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701 certifications also demonstrate its commitment to protecting sensitive data.
Other players like S3NS, NumSpot, OVHcloud, Oodrive, 3DS Outscale, and Scaleway certainly offer interesting alternatives, each with its own specificities. However, none combines collaboration and security as effectively as Drime in such an accessible solution.
Choosing a French cloud becomes particularly crucial in light of new regulations such as the NIS 2 directive and GDPR. Indeed, these legal frameworks require enhanced protection of personal data and complete transparency regarding their location.
Above all, the fundamental question remains one of trust. A trustworthy cloud provider must guarantee not only the technical security of your data but also its immunity from extraterritorial legislation like the American Cloud Act.
Ultimately, transitioning to a sovereign cloud represents a strategic investment in your company's future. Drime, with its free 20 GB offer to test the service, allows you to initiate this approach without commitment. Subsequently, its flexible plans adapt to your evolving needs, from the Starter package at €2.99/month to customized Enterprise solutions.
The future of French digital sovereignty is being built today, and your choice of cloud provider will play a decisive role in this evolution. However, it is only by adopting truly sovereign solutions like Drime that we can collectively guarantee the digital independence of our organizations and, by extension, that of our nation.
FAQs
Q1. What is a sovereign cloud and why is it important for French companies?
A sovereign cloud is a data hosting solution entirely controlled by national entities, ensuring that data remains within French territory and is protected from extraterritorial laws. It is crucial for French companies as it guarantees the confidentiality of sensitive data and compliance with European regulations such as GDPR.
Q2. What are the advantages of choosing a certified French cloud solution?
Certified French cloud solutions provide enhanced data protection, compliance with national security standards, immunity from foreign laws, and local technical support. They also contribute to the country's digital sovereignty and foster the development of the French technological ecosystem.
Q3. How do French cloud solutions compare to American cloud giants?
French cloud solutions distinguish themselves through their commitment to data sovereignty, local certifications (such as SecNumCloud), and compliance with European regulations. While they may have fewer global resources, they often provide better adaptation to specific French and European market needs.
Q4. Which certifications should I look for when choosing a French cloud provider?
Key certifications to look for include SecNumCloud (issued by ANSSI), ISO 27001 for information security management, HDS for health data hosting, and GDPR compliance. These certifications ensure high levels of security and regulatory compliance.
Q5. How do French cloud solutions support business innovation and competitiveness?
French cloud solutions promote innovation by offering platforms tailored to local needs, supporting the development of emerging technologies like AI, and facilitating collaboration between French companies. They enhance competitiveness by securing strategic data and enabling businesses to easily comply with European regulations.
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