Data Sovereignty in the Cloud

Modern cloud-based information technology is essential to safeguard day-to-day business and enable digital transformation. Data sovereignty plays an important role in this.

IT is undergoing constant change, especially with the new challenges and questions posed by the technological advancement of cloud services. To investigate the role of technology and data sovereignty for the successful implementation of digital business models and services, the market research and consulting company International Data Corporation (IDC) surveyed 150 IT decision-makers at German companies with more than 100 employees in September 2022. The results of the study were published in the form of the white paper “Data sovereignty in the cloud – prerequisites, potential and challenges”.

Use of cloud services will continue to increase

The cloud based on standards and open technologies allows companies to respond proactively to geopolitical challenges and competitive pressure. 61 percent of the companies surveyed plan to use cloud services even more intensively in the medium and long term – increased cybersecurity and the establishment of standards are the biggest drivers.

Data sovereignty is still expandable

Data sovereignty plays an important role here, as it enables companies in digital ecosystems to strengthen their operational excellence and innovative strength. Rightly so, data sovereignty is already seen as the most important criterion when working with a cloud provider, as the IDC survey showed. However, only 11 percent of the companies surveyed have a strategy for the sovereign handling of data. The majority of companies are not yet as far advanced as they should be. According to the results, 61 percent are at least partially active.

A sovereign cloud is crucial to achieving comprehensive sovereignty. It offers added value through the implementation of data sovereignty, a sovereign technology stack and transparent operating models. Sovereign cloud also enables enhanced autonomy and control over data and external instances at the cloud provider, which strengthens IT security and reduces compliance hurdles.

The transition to the sovereign cloud is gradual, with IDC recommending that the first steps towards data sovereignty in the cloud be taken quickly and relevant applications and data be moved to the sovereign cloud in the medium term to ensure the necessary level of sovereignty in competition.

Source: IDC White Paper „Datenhoheit in der Cloud – Voraussetzungen, Potenzial und Herausforderungen“