Guest: Thierry Carrez (LinkedIn)
Organization: OpenInfra Foundation 
Show: The Source
Topic: Open Source

Europe’s digital future stands at a critical crossroads. Nations across the continent are rethinking how to protect their data, build independent infrastructure, and maintain trust in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty. But what does it really mean to achieve “digital sovereignty” — and can independence truly coexist with openness?

In this in-depth conversation from the OpenInfra Summit in Paris, Thierry Carrez, General Manager of the OpenInfra Foundation, joins Swapnil Bhartiya to explore this complex balance. Carrez argues that while digital sovereignty remains an important goal, the real key lies in resilience — the ability to adapt, recover, and thrive even amid disruption.

Throughout the discussion, Carrez outlines how open infrastructure provides nations and enterprises the tools to build local, trusted systems without sacrificing global collaboration. He explains why resilience is a process, not a destination, and how Europe can reduce dependency by developing local talent, building regional ecosystems, and engaging in thoughtful open source regulation.

The conversation also touches on Europe’s deep history with open source innovation — from Linux and MySQL to Raspberry Pi — and why commercialization still lags behind grassroots creativity. Carrez highlights how initiatives like OpenInfra’s partnerships with universities, the Linux Foundation, and regional advisory boards are helping close that gap.

For any organization exploring how open source and open collaboration can build secure, future-ready infrastructure, this interview offers a timely perspective on the next decade of digital independence.

Thierry Carrez begins by redefining the meaning of digital sovereignty. For him, sovereignty isn’t a static achievement but a continuous process, much like security. No nation can ever be fully independent — there will always be reliance on global supply chains and international technologies. Instead, he emphasizes “resilience” as a more practical and achievable objective. By increasing resilience, countries gain more control and flexibility to handle geopolitical and technological disruptions.

He explains how open infrastructure — the foundation for cloud computing, data centers, and edge environments — provides the building blocks for that resilience. Because open source software like OpenStack and Kata Containers are freely available and community-driven, they allow nations to create local infrastructure without vendor lock-in or external dependencies. This model builds trust and ensures continuity even when political or commercial environments shift.

Carrez also explores the human side of sovereignty: talent and policy. Technology may be mature, but adoption depends on people who know how to operate and maintain it. OpenInfra’s collaboration with universities such as École Polytechnique in France aims to educate the next generation of engineers who can manage and scale open source infrastructure locally.

On policy, Carrez points to the evolving regulatory environment — including the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) — as both a challenge and opportunity. He believes that engaging policymakers early can help ensure open source projects are supported rather than constrained. The CRA, if implemented correctly, could strengthen the open source ecosystem by requiring companies to contribute back to the communities that power their products.

When discussing Europe’s innovation landscape, Carrez acknowledges a long-standing gap between grassroots open source development and commercial success. While Europe has produced many foundational open source projects, fewer large-scale companies have emerged to sustain them. OpenInfra is addressing this by nurturing local ecosystems, connecting startups and SMEs with global collaboration networks, and ensuring that open technologies are recognized as strategic assets.

Finally, Carrez highlights the importance of maintaining global openness while building regional resilience. Through its regional hubs in Europe and Asia, OpenInfra ensures that local needs inform global development — without fragmenting the ecosystem. Open source, he reminds us, is a global commons that thrives on shared collaboration.

Here is the edited Q&A of the interview:

Swapnil Bhartiya: As we all know, Europe’s digital future is at a crossroads. Nations across the continent are striving to gain control over their data and infrastructure. How do you do that without closing yourself off from the global innovation ecosystem? What does digital sovereignty really mean — and where is the balance between independence and isolationism?

Thierry Carrez: A lot of people are talking about digital sovereignty because it’s top of mind in Europe, but not everyone agrees on what it means. For me, it’s about independence — having more control over your infrastructure and workloads. But sovereignty isn’t a state, it’s a process, just like security. You’re never fully secure or fully sovereign. The more resilience you build into your infrastructure, the more prepared you are for unexpected changes. So it’s not just about independence, it’s about flexibility and the ability to adapt.

Swapnil Bhartiya: You seem to be emphasizing resilience over sovereignty. Can you elaborate on why?

Thierry Carrez: Sovereignty is the end goal — full independence — but that’s not entirely possible. You can operate infrastructure in your own country, but if your hardware is built elsewhere, you still rely on others. So it’s better to focus on increasing resilience gradually. It’s like safety — you can never be 100% safe, but the more safety measures you have, the better off you are. For digital infrastructure, that means building locally, keeping control over your data, and reducing exposure to external risks.

Swapnil Bhartiya: Technology is often the easy part. The harder part is people, culture, and policy. What challenges have you seen in developing local talent and shaping smart regulations?

Thierry Carrez: Open infrastructure software is mature and ready for production today. The challenge is talent — finding people who can run and manage it. That’s why we’re partnering with universities like École Polytechnique to train the next generation in open source infrastructure. Another challenge is regulation. Open source used to be overlooked by legislators; now it’s under scrutiny. That’s why we work closely with the Linux Foundation to engage policymakers and make sure regulations like the Cyber Resilience Act support, rather than hinder, open source development.

Swapnil Bhartiya: Europe has historically been strong in grassroots open source innovation but weaker in commercialization. Do you still see that gap?

Thierry Carrez: Yes, absolutely. Europe produces incredible open source software — from Linux to Python — but commercial ecosystems haven’t always followed. We’re seeing more adoption and contributions, but fewer large companies building business models around it. That’s something OpenInfra is actively addressing by fostering local ecosystems that can sustain the development of open technologies.

Swapnil Bhartiya: How do you balance regional needs like Europe’s sovereignty with the need to maintain global collaboration?

Thierry Carrez: Open source is a global commons — once released, it belongs to everyone. We shouldn’t fragment it into regional versions. But we do need strong local ecosystems in every region to make it sustainable. That’s why we’ve established OpenInfra Europe and Asia hubs, each with advisory boards that represent local priorities while contributing to global strategy.

Swapnil Bhartiya: Finally, what role do you see OpenInfra playing in the next generation of digital infrastructure?

Thierry Carrez: Our goal is to ensure open infrastructure remains the foundation for whatever comes next — whether it’s AI workloads, edge computing, or future cloud models. We want governments and enterprises to know their investment in open source is long-term and future-proof. OpenInfra will continue evolving to support the next decade of digital innovation.