Lisbon, June 26, 2025 (Lusa) - Google Cloud announced on Thursday the availability of a sovereign cloud portfolio in Portugal and is willing to assist the country in this area, as the National Digital Strategy (EDN) provides for a development plan in this field.
The technology company offers a sovereign cloud portfolio in Portugal that is “constantly evolving to meet the needs of any organisation, from global infrastructure optimised for AI [artificial intelligence], kits for the development of AI agents, productivity solutions, among other solutions”.
The country manager of Google Cloud Portugal told Lusa, on the sidelines of Google Cloud Day, which is taking place at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, that the sovereign cloud is “a hot topic”, particularly due to data control within the European Union and all the protection it includes, such as encryption keys that ensure authorized access to information, taking into account current geopolitical risks.
For example, some countries in the defence sector are using a sovereign cloud solution that operates independently from the cloud provided by the technology company.
On 12 December, the government approved the National Digital Strategy (EDN) and the 2025-2026 Action Plan, which, among other measures, provided for a sovereign cloud, with officials due to draw up a development plan this year.
Asked whether Google’s solution is a candidate, Sofia Marta said: “Of course it is”.
But “this issue relates to broader contexts beyond Portugal, we are completely attentive and want to be an organisation that will help states, in this case Portugal in particular, to meet this need. I think this path is inevitable, and we would very much like this path to be taken with us,” she concluded.
Among other announcements made today is the availability of voice translation in Google Meet for English/Portuguese/English, which translates speech almost in real-time, maintaining the speaker's cadence and tone.
This feature will be available in the coming weeks for translations between English and Portuguese, according to the technology company.
Google Cloud also announced how Portuguese companies and public administrations are using its technology.
For example, the Superior Council of Administrative and Tax Courts (CSTAF) is implementing NotebookLM to support judges’ analysis, and the Regional Secretariat for Education, Science and Technology (SRE) (one of the departments of the Regional Government of Madeira) is developing a customised chatbot on Google AI Studio to assist learning.
Another example is ULS Coimbra, which is integrating Google Workspace with Gemini to streamline complex clinical processes, making them faster, more informed, and more secure.
In turn, Sonae MC “has strengthened its digital security by implementing Google SecOps Enterprise Plus, a platform that uses AI and machine learning to improve the detection and response to cyber threats, thus protecting critical assets and customer trust,” says the technology company, and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) is accelerating its digital transformation with Google Cloud, positioning itself as a pioneer in the financial sector.
Examples include NOS, which “has been undergoing a comprehensive digital transformation with Google Cloud since 2020, since the creation of its Cloud Centre of Excellence”, Sogrape, which “has modernised its centralised data platform, enabling it to use AI for efficient document analysis and data-driven business strategies, significantly increasing team efficiency and decision-making”, and Super Bock.
The latter “uses BigQuery and Vertex AI to transform data into actionable insights, driving new customer prospecting and ensuring they remain agile and competitive in the market,” he added.
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