<i>So why aren’t they? Because of a perception – not a reality – that their data will not be safe if held on a data center outside their own local jurisdiction.</i><p>I'm not really convinced just yet. If you have the data on-premises, you have control over the physical hardware. There can be reasons to trust your local authorities to not simply seize it, or spy on it in name of your competitor, but not those of the remote country. Also, jurisdiction is not <i>that</i> uniform in Europe.
I think he/they were targeting the wrong companies. I know of big government companies that are moving to the cloud with their mail infrastructure in Europe. It's not so much trust, it's more about who will take the first jump. Lead and follow. "This big company is doing it, why shouldn't we?" But then again, maybe I'm wrong ;)