As organisations build AI into customer-facing products, questions about who controls customer identity data, and where it sits, are moving up the agenda. Identity platform FusionAuth says that shift is behind its growth in Europe and has opened its first dedicated sales team in the UK in response.
FusionAuth’s 2026 State of AI and Identity Report found that 85% of technology leaders have faced demands from customers, partners or suppliers to demonstrate tenant isolation as an enterprise buying criterion. In other words, buyers increasingly want proof that their customers’ identity data is kept separate from everyone else’s.
That concern is particularly sharp in Europe, where EU initiatives are putting more emphasis on cloud sovereignty, interoperability and data portability. Gartner forecasts European sovereign-cloud IaaS spending will rise 83% in 2026.
FusionAuth’s European ARR has grown 72% over two years and now represents more than 30% of company ARR, all before it had a team in the region. In its fiscal first quarter ended 31 July 2026, new-business ARR grew 48% year-on-year.
“European enterprises are sending a clear message: they want greater control over where identity runs, how customer data is isolated, and who controls the underlying infrastructure,” said Brian Bell, CEO of FusionAuth. “European buyers chose us before we even had a team on the ground. Now, we are putting direct resources into the UK to support this demand and partner closely with regional leaders.”
The company says the strongest demand comes from consumer brands that see their customer relationships, and the data behind them, as too valuable to hand to a shared platform. Its European customers include tado°, Elemis, Grand Frais, UNICEPTA and MKB Brandstof.
Sport offers a clear example. Several premier football clubs and governing bodies use FusionAuth for fan identity, and the company is co-sponsoring The Fan Identity Forum at Leaders Week London on 7–8 October with sports digital specialist Stadion. The session will look at the impact of AI on fan engagement and why clubs need to identify and own the fan relationship across ticketing, merchandise, streaming and matchday.
“Sports and entertainment organisations put a huge amount of effort into building relationships with their fans, but that connection breaks down when fan data is scattered across different platforms and partners,” said Russell Stopford, CEO of Stadion. “If you want to know your fans and give them a joined-up experience, you need a trusted view of who they are. Partnering with FusionAuth gives us a strong identity foundation to build those experiences around, while keeping the relationships firmly with the clubs.”
FusionAuth can be deployed in its own cloud, in a customer’s environment or on-premises, and supports passwordless login, MFA, SSO and OAuth.
