According to reports citing sources involved in the process, a consortium aligned with the internet giant Google appears determined to prevent the German federal government from awarding a major, sovereign cloud solution contract to two domestic technology competitors, SAP and Deutsche Telekom. The bidding group has reportedly submitted a complaint against the decision that awarded the contract to the two tech companies at the last minute.
The comprehensive scope of the procurement is estimated to total €250 million over the next four years. The allocation is specifically intended to benefit SAP and Deutsche Telekom by 30% each. Officials stated that granting the contract to both companies is designed to eliminate potential dependencies and ensure the system’s reliability through redundancy.
The ongoing dispute is considered a significant setback for Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) and his efforts to establish a uniform digital structure for German government use, accelerating the country’s slow rate of digitalization. The ministry noted that the digitalization effort is currently hampered by a lack of interconnection.
Currently, data and digital services are managed separately by federal, state, and local authorities. Some agencies do not even use cloud services from major vendors like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, or SAP, opting instead for internal servers kept in basement facilities. Wildberger’s goal is to unify this fragmented landscape by offering a unified, professional, and secure structure that is also resilient to geopolitical disruptions.
When questioned on Monday afternoon, Google declined to comment on the procedure, stating they were “not involved as an actor” in the process, and referencing their business partners. Similarly, Adesso declined to comment on the matter, as did the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs.