Home

The 8ra Initiative aims to establish a true Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum, a pioneering cloud ecosystem, designed to revolutionise data processing. The Initiative represents a united European effort toward creating a decentralised and federated digital infrastructure that enhances innovation, sovereignty, resilience and sustainability.

Building on the foundation set by IPCEI-CIS (Important Project of Common European Interest – Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services), the 8ra Initiative will extend the capabilities of Europe’s digital landscape beyond existing cloud services. It will serve as the core enabler of real-time, secure, and energy-efficient data services across industries such as manufacturing, mobility, healthcare, and energy. The first ever Cloud-Edge Continuum combines real-time capability, scalability, interoperability and low latency and thus offers the ideal starting conditions for AI, the industrial metaverse or autonomous systems.

Vision

Our vision is to build a unified, sovereign, and open digital infrastructure that fosters innovation, accelerates the digital transformation, and ensures data sovereignty. Through Cloud-Edge Continuum provided by the 8ra Initiative, we envision a future where Europe leads the way in scalable, secure, and interoperable cloud-edge services, capable of supporting critical applications and advanced business models across industries.

By leveraging open standards, sustainable technologies, and collaboration among multiple providers, the 8ra Initiative aims to lay the foundation for a resilient, connected, and competitive digital economy.

Objectives

Common Reference Architecture

A blueprint for real-time cloud and edge systems that ensures seamless data processing and operational efficiency.

Open Source Software

Building the core infrastructure needed for the base layers of the edge cloud stack, promoting collaboration and innovation.

Technological Foundation

Enabling energy-efficient, climate-neutral, and automated services to meet the growing demand for sustainability.

Advanced Cloud & Edge Services

Supporting seamless deployment across vendor networks, ensuring flexibility and interoperability.

New Data-Driven Business Models

Empowering sectors like manufacturing, mobility, energy, and healthcare with cutting-edge technologies and business models.

What do we want to achieve?

With the 8ra Initiative and IPCEICIS, we want to build a high-performance cloud-edge infrastructure based on European values and ensure European competitiveness in the digital environment in the long term. The core aim is to create an overarching “Cloud-Edge Continuum” that is not tied to individual providers. This is to be achieved on the basis of a common technological foundation for energy-saving, climate-neutral, highly efficient, automated and interconnected services. In this way, we want to decisively strengthen digital sovereignty and data portability for Europe.


To ensure that IPCEI-CIS will achieve these goals, the projects will place a particular focus on interoperability, sustainability, cybersecurity and standardisation.

Standardisation

A key objective is to create synergies through various measures, including the review of existing and emerging standards in the IPCEI technology stack, close cooperation with standardisation organisations such as CEN/CENELEC and ETSI, the development of reference implementations and the provision of open source results in accordance with common open source software licences.

Interoperability

IPCEI-CIS aims to create innovative data processing solutions that rely on connectivity between data, sufficient bandwidth availability and ultra-low latency. We achieve this by linking European data storage in a network of cloud and edge service providers and operating them in a decentralised manner. At the same time, we are improving the scalability and interoperability of application software and data originating from different infrastructure providers. IPCEI-CIS thus makes an important contribution to the objectives of the European Data Strategy, in particular to the establishment of data processing activities of the High-Impact Project (HIP) on European data spaces and federated cloud infrastructures and services.

Sustainability (energy efficiency)

IPCEI-CIS aims to integrate digital infrastructures into energy management in order to promote a sustainable EU digitalisation. This is done in line with the European Green Deal by developing green technologies along the value chain. Cloud-edge computing is crucial here and enables innovation in areas such as computing, data storage, communication and heat dissipation. Potential use cases include improved cooling for data centres, efficient use of waste heat and renewable energy technologies.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is critical for trust, traceability, resilience and reliability in the multi-provider cloud edge continuum. We rely on identity management, robust encryption technologies and EUCC-certified hardware. Our goal: to develop AI-optimised security solutions for the next-generation cloud edge in diverse cloud environments. In this way, IPCEI-CIS contributes to the objectives of 8ra and the EU Cybersecurity Act.

The Central Pillar of 8ra

IPCEICIS is the key digital policy project aimed at strengthening Europe’s digital and technological sovereignty under the 8ra umbrella. Launched under the German Council Presidency, 12 Member States are currently working together to build a powerful and sustainable first-ever “Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum”. More than 100 partners in the European Union are involved in this project.


IPCEI-CIS creates a “Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum” without being tied to a single provider. In terms of interoperability, portability and scalability, an advanced digital infrastructure is being developed that will significantly revolutionise current offerings on cloud and edge markets, which are dominated by third-party providers. By fostering collaboration across industries and borders, IPCEI-CIS plays a crucial role in building the infrastructure necessary for real-time data processing, secure communication, and energy-efficient cloud-edge services that align with 8ra’s mission of enhancing Europe’s digital capabilities.

A cloud is an external data storage facility that provides resources via the internet. Cloud computing offers numerous advantages, including scalability, flexibility and cost efficiency. However, cloud access is dependent on internet access and real-time data transfer is not possible due to the distance between servers. Edge computing, on the other hand, brings computing power closer to the data source, reduces latency times and offers advantages such as lower data transfer costs. In addition, data can be processed securely at the point of origin. However, edge resources are much more limited. The “Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum” represents a seamless integration of cloud and edge computing. Resources and applications are moved both to the cloud and to the edge of the network. This enables dynamic distribution of data processing tasks as required.


In this way, performance can be optimised using the cloud-edge continuum. The “Cloud-Edge Continuum” also enables greater adaptability to the specific requirements of an application. It offers both the ultra-low latency and real-time processing of edge technology as well as the scalability and resource diversity of the cloud.

IPCEI-CIS launched around 120 European projects in December 2023. The projects cover the entire cloud edge IoT value chain – from cloud-edge continuum infrastructure and capabilities to data processing. Use cases in the fields of mobility, energy, industry and healthcare will bring the results to their first industrial application. In addition, overarching cooperation across the various European member states is a top priority. This ensures that an integrated, pan-European and application-orientated cloud infrastructure can be created.