This article is a part of Poland Unpacked. Weekly intelligence for decision-makers
The European cloud services market remains dominated by global, primarily U.S.-based providers. At the same time, the role of local companies is growing as they build their own technological capabilities and increase control over data within European jurisdiction.
“Building infrastructure today is not just about performance, but above all about data control and operational capability. The new region in Łódź enables large-scale data processing, the development of AI models, and the delivery of public-sector projects in an environment compliant with Polish and European regulations,” says Dr. Maciej Krzyżanowski, CEO of CloudFerro.
In his view, digital sovereignty is no longer a competitive advantage but a prerequisite for the functioning of both public administration and the broader economy.
New infrastructure for AI and satellite data projects
The Łódź region has been designed for projects requiring high computational power, bandwidth, and stable data storage. These include data analytics, AI applications, as well as geospatial and satellite data processing.
CloudFerro also operates in the space sector—specifically in the downstream segment, which covers the collection, storage, and analysis of observational data used in ground-based applications.
According to the company, the new region enables:
- installation of more than 300 server racks,
- provision of up to 2.4 MW of IT power,
- processing and storage capacity of up to 1 exabyte,
- use of NVIDIA GPU accelerators (H200, B300, RTX 6000 PRO) for AI workloads.
CloudFerro already provides public access to approximately 100 PB of Earth Observation data within the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem.
Over the past three years, the company has invested around EUR 50 million (approx. PLN 215 million) in developing its cloud infrastructure, including the Łódź region.
Stanisław Krzyżanowski, Director of Strategy and New Business Development at CloudFerro, notes that a similar level of investment will be maintained in the coming years. At the beginning of 2026, the company signed a loan agreement with a banking consortium worth EUR 75 million (approx. PLN 322.5 million), which will be allocated to business development, including cloud infrastructure expansion.
Infrastructure built in recent years
Krzyżanowski explains that the company already offers public cloud services in Poland (three regions) and Germany (two regions). It also provides private cloud solutions used by commercial clients. CloudFerro operates nearly 800 graphics cards of various types, used among others for training AI models and developing agent-based applications.
“We also own data repositories with a total capacity exceeding 1 exabyte. By comparison, this is equivalent to the storage of roughly one million modern laptops. A significant portion—over 100 petabytes—consists of the open Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem satellite data repository, the largest of its kind in Europe. It is distributed across regions in Poland and Germany and maintained to serve the European space industry,” says Krzyżanowski.
CloudFerro’s entry into the German market was driven by winning a 2020 tender from the European Space Agency. The project involved building a platform for the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt for storing and processing satellite data. The cooperation continues, with the company serving public institutions, research organizations, and private clients in Germany.
Expert's perspective
Europe needs greater digital sovereignty
Moreover, CloudFerro’s investment shifts the balance within the traditional value pyramid in the space sector. Conventionally, the most complex space systems sit at the top, generating higher margins at each level. In parallel, however, a new “new space” value pyramid has emerged, where margins depend on the degree of data processing. The emergence of local cloud regions significantly increases the chances for Polish companies to operate at higher levels of this pyramid. For the Polish economy, this is positive news, as it supports the development of the most commercial, high-margin segment of the space sector—downstream activities based on satellite data collection and processing.
Local cloud infrastructure lowers the entry barrier for domestic technology companies, including space startups and dual-use solution providers. Public administration could also benefit from the growth of companies such as CloudFerro by gaining access to domestic systems that reduce reliance on U.S. providers.
In the context of growing debates on technological sovereignty in Poland and Europe, it is increasingly important not only where and how data is sourced, but also where and by whom it is processed.
Greater technological independence for Poland
How does the Łódź region fit into the company’s strategy?
“Poland’s economy is growing rapidly. We believe that both public administration and industry will increasingly move their operations to the cloud. This will naturally increase demand for sovereign cloud services, as well as specialized services—advanced solutions for the space sector or generative AI workloads,” says Krzyżanowski.
The company assumes that greater technological independence from Western, particularly U.S.-based, providers is a key element in strengthening the security of data stored by local entities.
For the space sector and beyond
CloudFerro aims to serve both space-sector clients and organizations from other industries.
“Serving the space sector remains central to our business—it is our core. At the same time, we are expanding our offering to clients from other sectors that require access to local, sovereign cloud infrastructure. From the outset, we have focused on proprietary solutions and open-source technologies, without dependence on global vendors’ licensing models,” explains Krzyżanowski.
He adds that evolving geopolitical conditions, alongside the rapid development of generative AI and AI agents operating on large—and often sensitive—datasets, will push clients toward local providers such as CloudFerro.
“On the one hand, it is about security; on the other, flexibility. Our long-standing cooperation with the space sector, one of the most technologically demanding industries, serves as a strong reference,” he notes.
Operating in a market dominated by giants
In Europe, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure hold dominant positions, making competition in the mass market difficult. CloudFerro, however, does not target individual customers.
“We focus on complex organizations with extensive systems, for which data sovereignty is critical,” says Krzyżanowski.
The growth trajectory of companies like CloudFerro also depends on how public administration approaches cooperation with local providers.
“In public tenders, global providers are often preferred, so administrative decisions can act as a catalyst for growth by leveling the competitive playing field. The Polish Space Agency’s successful tender for NSIS Cloud—a service combining a satellite data repository with a processing environment—is one of the few major domestic projects. We also have a number of smaller implementations, including for the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture,” he notes.
Key Takeaways
- The development of local cloud services can lower barriers to entry for technology companies and startups while improving data security. At the same time, the scale of such growth depends on public procurement policies, which can support local providers and contribute to greater national technological independence.
- The European cloud market remains dominated by global U.S. players, but the growing role of local providers such as CloudFerro may enhance digital sovereignty. Control over data and the ability to process it within European jurisdiction are becoming essential for modern economies and public administration.
- The new cloud region in Łódź represents a significant infrastructure investment, particularly for the space sector and data-intensive applications such as AI and satellite analytics. The expansion of technological capabilities and experience in European projects strengthens Poland’s position in data processing.