The worldwide IT disruption made Europe’s risky reliance on US technology clear.
The jibe is overused to the point of cliché: Europe is a good place to launch a tech company, but not a good place to grow one.
Although the reasons are debatable, their effects are evident. Europe is home to none of the ten most valuable tech companies worldwide. Meanwhile, eight of them reside in the US.
That inevitably leads to the development of transatlantic digital service dependencies. Big IT companies are essential to our public services, businesses, and crucial infrastructure.
Their tyrants, their whims, and their vulnerabilities have us all at their mercy. A continent can tremble if even one of them falters.
A sad example was the major IT disruption that occurred last week. CrowdStrike, a Texas-based security vendor, released a simple software update that caused worldwide chaos. It caused millions of Windows computers to crash instantly.
Europe was soon burnt by the meltdown. Payments were stopped, flights were grounded, and operations were canceled. TV stations fell off the air, government systems stalled, and market transactions stopped.
The chaos served as a reminder of the infinite power of big tech. It also made clear how important European competitors were.
The argument is strengthened by China’s response to the outage.
The IT outage’s geopolitics
China escaped most of the agony while Europe gazed at the blue screen of death. The cause? There isn’t much use of CrowdStrike software in the Middle Kingdom. Instead, the nation uses domestic substitutes.
Russia also escaped the disturbance for the most part. The nation is now required by sanctions to create native software substitutes for US software.
Fortunately, Europe has not been subjected to the same geopolitical pressures as Russia and China. However, the continent can still benefit from its independence.
Even though we don’t hate the US as much as they do, tensions nevertheless surround us.
Our businesses are already embroiled in the conflict. The largest tech company in the world, ASML, a Dutch semiconductor company, is not allowed to export equipment to China. The impact of the White House’s tariffs has also reached Europe.
The necessity for tech sovereignty is increasing as another round of protectionism led by America First is emerging.
Our digital infrastructure is already precarious enough, as the IT meltdown demonstrated. Events in politics have the power to convert fissures into destruction.
Data security startup CTERA’s CTO, Aron Brand, called the outage a “wake-up call” for national security.
Apparently, it woke up EU politicians. The Maltese Labour Party’s Alex Agius Saliba, an MEP, stated that the consequences demonstrated the “urgent” need for improved digital infrastructure.
German Green MEP Alexandra Geese demanded that Europe create a new IT infrastructure.
She remarked, “The global Microsoft outage demonstrates how vulnerable a world dependent on a small number of tech players is.”
Europe will need to develop its own tech titans if it is to escape that environment. Significant adjustments in finances, culture, and policy will be needed.
However, the ability already exists. The breakthroughs are starting to appear. The market is sufficiently large. And there’s never been more need than now.
