Zadara has joined the Open Cloud Coalition, linking the company to a group campaigning for a more competitive UK cloud market.
It also took part in a policy discussion at 10 Downing Street with government stakeholders and industry peers on cloud competition, investment, economic growth and artificial intelligence adoption in the UK.
The coalition brings together 27 cloud providers and users across the UK, the EU and other markets. It argues that cloud services need greater openness, competition, security and reliability as businesses and public sector bodies face growing pressure over costs, data location and technology choice.
Zadara's decision comes as cloud infrastructure providers seek a stronger voice in policy debates around AI, sovereignty and software licensing. Those issues have become more prominent as organisations review where their data sits, how easily they can move workloads and how dependent they are on a small number of large vendors.
The Downing Street discussion focused on how competition in the cloud market could support investment and productivity while widening access to AI tools and services. It also highlighted open cloud infrastructure, fair software licensing, data locality and customer choice as factors affecting innovation in business and government.
Zadara said its membership reflects a broader effort to support cloud models that reduce vendor lock-in and meet sovereign requirements. The company provides cloud infrastructure on a consumption-based model and says its platform is used for modern workloads, including AI.
For the coalition, the addition of another provider strengthens its push for policy measures aimed at opening up the market. The group has positioned itself as a forum between policymakers and technology suppliers at a time when regulators and governments are examining competition in digital infrastructure more closely.
Policy focus
The UK cloud market has become a key battleground as demand for AI computing resources grows and organisations weigh the risks of concentrating data and processing in a small number of environments. That has created an opening for smaller and mid-sized providers to argue for interoperability, portability and licensing terms that make switching easier.
According to company information, Zadara operates more than 500 edge cloud locations worldwide and says it can deploy cloud infrastructure in any location. It also says its services are designed for on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud and edge use cases.
The company is based in Irvine, California, but its latest move is directly tied to the UK market. By joining the coalition, it is aligning itself with an industry effort that frames cloud competition as both an economic and a policy issue, not just a technology issue.
That framing has gained traction as public bodies and regulated industries place greater weight on sovereignty requirements. Data locality and control over infrastructure have become central to procurement decisions in sectors where compliance, resilience and access to AI systems must be balanced.
Industry groups have also raised concerns about software licensing practices that can make it more expensive or difficult for customers to run workloads across different cloud environments. Those concerns have fed into broader calls for a market structure that gives buyers more flexibility in how they deploy and move data-intensive applications.
Alasdair Hill, Director, Sales - UK and North Europe, Zadara, outlined the company's view of the coalition's role in that debate. "Industry collaboration and advocacy play a critical role in shaping the future of cloud," said Alasdair Hill, Director, Sales - UK and North Europe, Zadara.
"Organisations like the Open Cloud Coalition help ensure that innovation is not constrained by restrictive models, and that customers have access to open, competitive infrastructure options that meet evolving regulatory and technological demands," Hill said.
The Open Cloud Coalition also welcomed the company's support as it continues engaging with policymakers and industry. "As cloud infrastructure becomes increasingly central to AI adoption, productivity and economic growth, it is vital that customers have genuine choice and access to flexible, interoperable solutions. We welcome Zadara's support as we continue working with policymakers and industry to promote fair competition and innovation across the UK cloud ecosystem," said Nicky Stewart, Senior Advisor, Open Cloud Coalition.