Why organizations are moving past full digital sovereignty

The goals of digital sovereignty can fit neatly in a presentation..

Know where your data lives, control the technology you depend on, and make sure you can keep operating if something goes wrong.

Then someone asks how long it would take to leave a critical technology provider.

According to new Capgemini research, more than one-third of respondents would need more than a year. Another 10% say they have no viable alternative provider at all.

The report by the global technology consultancy looks at how large organizations are thinking about digital sovereignty when so much of their technology already depends on outside providers.

Though 93% of organizations discuss digital sovereignty (in some capacity) at the board level and 44% rank it as a top priority, most respondents were refreshingly honest, with 59% saying that full digital sovereignty isn’t a realistic or achievable goal. 

Capgemini Research Institute surveyed 1,300 business and technology executives across industries at organizations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue, and government departments with budgets above $1 billion, across 12 countries, as well as 13 senior executives at leading global organizations. 

Two-thirds defined sovereignty around what Capgemini calls resilient interdependence, combining control over critical technology with outside partnerships.

Over the past decade, more of that technology has moved into the cloud and into the hands of a small number of global providers. According to Capgemini’s own Digital Sovereignty Index, 86% of 866 organizations had significant exposure to foreign or externally controlled supply chains.

Many are still poorly prepared if something goes wrong. Among organizations that had recently experienced an operational disruption, only 42% had contingency plans in place.

Preparedness varies sharply by region. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. organizations have contingency plans, compared with slightly more than a third in Europe and APAC (Australia, China, India, Japan).

“Digital sovereignty is therefore not about full autonomy but more about ensuring organizations have a clear understanding of their technology dependencies, in order to regain the control and flexibility to manage risks,” said Karine Brunet, chief operations and delivery officer at Capgemini.

“The real challenge will be to build resilience without sacrificing competitiveness, to drive innovation and long-term growth.”

Final shots

• Full sovereignty may not always be a realistic goal, but organizations still need to know where they can’t afford to lose control.
• You can’t make good sovereignty decisions if you don’t know which outside providers your operations depend on.
• The ability to switch providers becomes part of the risk calculation when that move could take more than a year.