Innovating with Trust: A Secure Path for Siemens' Cloud Operations

Balancing Control and Agility: valantic’s Cloud Architecture for Siemens

Siemens partnered with valantic to build a secure and scalable cloud-native data architecture on AWS, which balances data residency and governance with operational agility for faster innovation.

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The challenge

Siemens faced the challenge of balancing strict data residency and governance requirements with the need for a scalable, agile cloud platform to support faster innovation and integration.

Consulting approach

valantic’s consulting approach was “sovereignty-first,” building a cloud-native data architecture that gives Siemens full control over its data to meet both compliance needs and operational agility.

Customer benefits and solution

The solution delivered a secure, auditable, and highly scalable cloud environment, allowing Siemens to meet all compliance requirements, protect every data asset, and accelerate rapid innovation.

About the company

Siemens AG is a global technology powerhouse headquartered in Munich, Germany, with a history of innovation spanning over 170 years. As one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates, it operates in electrification, automation, and digitalization, serving industries like manufacturing, infrastructure, and healthcare. The company’s mission is to empower societies and businesses through cutting-edge technology and foster sustainable growth.

Siemens Corporate Headquarters in Munich

Siemens is organized into core business segments, including Digital Industries, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, and Siemens Healthineers. These segments provide integrated solutions to address complex modern challenges. Digital Industries offers automation and digitalization solutions to help manufacturers optimize processes and increase productivity. Smart Infrastructure focuses on intelligent solutions for buildings and cities, promoting energy efficiency. The Mobility segment provides transportation solutions, while Siemens Healthineers advances healthcare through state-of-the-art medical technology.

With a strong commitment to research and development, Siemens invests heavily in innovation. The company’s global network of R&D centers enables it to develop groundbreaking technologies. Siemens also emphasizes sustainability, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030. With a presence in over 200 countries and a workforce of over 300,000, Siemens is dedicated to driving progress and creating value for customers and society, shaping the future of industries and improving lives worldwide.

The challenge

Balancing Control and Agility

Siemens faced three main challenges in adopting a cloud platform:

Data Residency and Compliance

  • Production data and backups must always remain inside designated regions.
  • Siemens needed to prove that no data ever left those regions.

Transparent Governance and Auditing

  • Every data access, configuration change, and user action require a complete record.
  • Auditors and regulators must be able to review logs quickly and easily.

Maintaining Strict Boundaries in the Cloud

  • While taking advantage of AWS scalability, Siemens wanted to keep full ownership of its data.
  • No outside party should be able to access or move data without explicit permission.

Consulting approach

A Sovereignty-First Cloud Architecture

valantic built a cloud-native platform that gives Siemens full control over its data. Key components include:

  1. 1

    Edge Protection and Regional Traffic Control

    AWS WAF blocks threats; CloudFront serves only public frontend assets from S3. Sensitive requests go directly to a private VPC in-region, enforcing data to stay within approved boundaries.

  2. 2

    Isolated Processing Environment (VPC and Amazon EKS)

    Core services run on Amazon EKS inside a private VPC. Kubernetes pods follow least privilege. Aurora and ElastiCache run in private subnets, giving Siemens full control over data processing.

  3. 3

    Separated Data Stores (Multiple S3 Buckets, Aurora, and ElastiCache)

    Data is split across dedicated S3 buckets with tailored policies. Structured data resides in encrypted Aurora with multi-AZ replication. ElastiCache provides secure, in-memory access.

  4. 4

    Secure Secrets Management and Audit Trail

    Secrets are stored in AWS Secrets Manager, accessible only at runtime. AWS CloudTrail logs all actions and alerts security teams via Microsoft Teams for real-time oversight.

  5. 5

    Controlled Data Ingress from Snowflake

    Snowflake data arrives via a private, encrypted path to in-region S3. Kubernetes jobs validate compliance before processing; invalid files go to quarantine.

  6. 6

    Outbound Data Governance (Preventing Unauthorized Egress)

    Outbound traffic is tightly restricted. Only approved endpoints like Siemens’ SIEM are reachable. External API calls are routed through a monitored EKS proxy.

Solution and Customer Benefits

By implementing valantic’s design, Siemens achieved:

  • Data Residency Compliance
    All production and backup data remain in-region. Each data type is stored in a separate S3 bucket with specific access rules, keeping sensitive data isolated.
  • End-to-End Encryption and Isolation
    Data is encrypted at rest, in transit, and in use. Siemens controls all keys via AWS KMS. All components run in private subnets with no direct internet access.
  • Transparent Governance and Auditing
    CloudTrail logs every access and config change. Logs are exportable for audits, and real-time alerts in Teams help the security team respond instantly.
  • Operational Agility without Sacrificing Control
    Teams deploy microservices via GitOps on EKS. All changes are versioned and reviewed, enabling fast, secure releases with no config drift and helping teams release features quickly while staying within Siemens’ security model.
  • Scalable, Future-Ready Foundation
    As Siemens incorporates new data sources, ranging from IoT devices, AI workloads, or acquisitions, the same VPC-centric design and regional controls apply. New workloads fit into the existing architecture, so Siemens does not need to redesign its data-sovereignty guardrails.

Your Contact

Dr. Robert Klimke, Director Advanced Cloud Solutions bei valantic Software & Technology Innovations

Dr. Robert Klimke

Director Advanced Cloud Solutions

valantic