French Enterprises Embrace Hybrid Cloud and AI to Meet Compliance and Digital Transformation Goals

French enterprises are embracing hybrid and sovereign clouds to support AI deployments, comply with regulations, and drive digital transformation. Growing investment in AI-ready infrastructure is reshaping the country's hybrid cloud market, with AIOps and GenAI solutions enhancing IT operations and productivity. Providers are partnering with regional data hosts to build tailored solutions, and French firms are seeking AI-capable, high-performance data centers to maintain global competitiveness.

French enterprises are rapidly updating their cloud strategies to support new AI tools and meet data sovereignty requirements, according to a recent report by Information Services Group (ISG) [1]. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services report for France highlights the growing investment in AI-ready infrastructure, reshaping the country's hybrid cloud market.

The report reveals that companies are adopting sovereign cloud solutions and high-performance data centers to comply with regulations, optimize AI operations, and become more sustainable. Julien Escribe, partner and managing director, SEMEA, ISG, noted that the growing need to support AI while meeting data sovereignty requirements has forced French companies to innovate [1]. France’s efforts to become globally competitive in AI have attracted substantial international investments, amplifying this trend.

Enterprises are increasingly using AIOps, a suite of AI tools designed to improve IT operations, to enhance service delivery. These implementations often leverage GenAI to improve knowledge searches and incident resolution. AIOps with GenAI is bolstering data analysts' productivity, enabling them to address complex requests, facilitate automation, and improve performance across large-scale IT infrastructures [1]. Many enterprises are also incorporating FinOps to optimize cloud spending and make operations more efficient.

In the midmarket segment, companies are embracing standardized, automated service models enhanced with AIOps. With security, governance, and compliance as focal points, providers are partnering with regional data hosts to build tailored solutions. This approach ensures streamlined operations and addresses diverse business challenges and requirements [1].

French firms are also integrating GenAI solutions within private cloud hosting services to support data sovereignty. This approach ensures privacy and keeps data local, allowing for secure custom AI development. By meeting sovereignty requirements, enterprises can make advancements in AI and data protection within compliant managed hosting environments [1].

French enterprises are seeking AI-capable, high-performance data centers to maintain global competitiveness. To meet this demand, providers offer advanced solutions including liquid cooling and SDN technologies. France's nuclear energy supplies ensure efficiency, scalability, and alignment with zero-carbon objectives [1].

Pedro L. Bicudo Maschio, distinguished analyst, ISG, and lead author of the report, stated that French enterprises are prioritizing hybrid cloud integration for scalability and flexibility. Providers are delivering tailored solutions based on GenAI and advanced compliance measures to support these goals [1].

The report also explores other trends, including investments in GPU-as-a-service and growing demand for ETL pipelines to support scalable AI and large language model (LLM) deployments. For more insights into the cloud-related challenges faced by French enterprises, along with ISG’s advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens® Focal Points briefing [1].

References
[1] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250905407847/en/Strategic-AI-Investments-Accelerate-French-Cloud-Initiatives