Working with data can be a blessing and a curse. While it is the definitive factor that empowers digital transformation efforts, aids decision-making, and stores an organization's most valuable and confidential assets, dealing with data is often a business' greatest challenge. As the world's dependence on data grows and the threat of cyberattacks increases, businesses need solutions that will manage, govern, and safeguard their data more efficiently. This is where digital sovereignty comes in.

Digital sovereignty helps people, businesses, and countries to stay in control of their digital assets and data. It goes beyond ownership of data - it means having full authority over everything from where and how data is stored and processed to fostering independence in technological development to enforcing local laws and regulations. Ultimately, it offers businesses increased control, security, and independence of their data.

Data localization, restricting sensitive or important data within national borders, has more than doubled in the past four years and has made dealing with data increasingly tricky.

Data localization creates barriers to innovation and seamless data flow - crucial factors for driving forward digital sovereignty. Regulations such as GDPR, DORA in the EU, and HIPAA in the US are prime examples of where organizations must be compliant - or risk hefty fines and reputational damage if they do not measure up.

Why is digital sovereignty worth the investment?

Digital sovereignty gives organizations increased control over data and keeps them compliant in the face of evolving data localization regulations. By maintaining control over data processing and storage within their geographic neighborhood, companies can reduce the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information, enhancing cybersecurity management.

Digital sovereignty also boasts infrastructure independence and resilience. By reducing dependence on imported technologies and services, companies can maintain critical operations even when international supply chains or services are compromised. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations with greater digital sovereignty were able to pivot and adapt quickly.

Moreover, organizations with strong digital sovereignty can compete in the global marketplace, as they can develop and deploy digital solutions faster without being hindered by dependency on global supply chains.

Creating a digital sovereignty action plan

The benefits are clear; any organization using or holding data needs a digital sovereignty plan to adhere to regulations and protect their digital assets, as well as to capitalize on the new opportunities these create. This action plan should consist of four pillars.

  1. Regulation and compliance: Businesses should identify digital sovereignty champions in the business to keep on top of evolving regulations and conduct regular compliance audits to stay up to date with the latest developments and legislation
  2. Data governance: Businesses should implement robust data protection measures to fortify defenses and prevent data from falling into the wrong hands.
  3. Digital infrastructure: Organizations must develop robust, secure, and compliant digital infrastructure to protect against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and data breaches. These solutions should be engineered with resilience at their core, with clear disaster recovery infrastructure plans. Subject to the nature of their regulatory footprints, businesses would be wise to consider sovereign cloud solutions in their action plan.
  4. Innovation and competitive spirit: Balancing investment in digital assets with investment in talent, research, and development is key to unlocking innovation.

Balancing the challenges of digital sovereignty with future opportunities

While a digital sovereignty plan sounds great in theory, there are still three major hurdles that businesses must overcome.

Firstly, navigating regulatory and governance issues. Organizations have to comply with evolving, and often conflicting, regulatory frameworks while still enabling innovation. This regulatory landscape is particularly complex in the EU, with GDPR and DORA leading the charge. Leaders must stay mindful of regulation and ensure compliance at every stage of their digital journey.

Next, there is the technical obstacle of building digital infrastructure while ensuring robust security measures. This requires considerable expertise to bring infrastructure up to scratch and satisfy regulations. With big players like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platforms fast becoming commonplace, working with tech partners that specialize in digital sovereignty will be key to keeping data secure.

Finally, there is an economic challenge to data sovereignty including the high cost of developing domestic technologies, the potential loss of economies of scale when moving away from global providers, and maintenance costs. Building an in-house data sovereignty strategy can prove more expensive than turning to industry experts.

However, despite these obstacles, the benefits of digital sovereignty are worth the investment. Increased control, security, and independence outweigh the difficulties and success often comes through innovative problem-solving and strategic partnerships. Choosing the right partners that offer all-round, all-in-one, digital sovereignty services and having a global presence with local expertise is key to getting the most out of your digital investment.

By embracing digital sovereignty, organizations can protect themselves from cyber risks, boost their cybersecurity, and gain independence and a competitive advantage. As businesses step up their digital transformation efforts, a clear plan for digital sovereignty will prove vital to comply with regulations and protect their most valuable assets.