Why is the need for a sovereign Cloud growing?

Rapid changes in the digital landscape require organizations to have increasing control over their data. In times of, among other things, increasing regulation and cyberattacks, a sovereign Cloud helps maintain control over data. With a sovereign Cloud, data is stored in a specific country (or region) and managed in accordance with local laws and regulations.

In addition to increasing regulation and cyberattacks, there are four other reasons why the need for a sovereign Cloud is growing. You can read about them below.

1. Increasing data volumes
Have you ever wondered how much data you consume in a day? Think about sending emails, watching videos on YouTube, or scrolling through Instagram. Thanks to the invention of mobile technology, the amount of data is increasing exponentially. While 64.2 zettabytes of data were created in 2020, this is expected to reach a staggering 181 zettabytes by 2025(1). Due to this sharp increase, it is now common for data to be shared and stored across multiple jurisdictions. While this can accelerate innovation, it also raises concerns regarding data sovereignty.

2. Increasing regulation
Laws and regulations regarding data protection are constantly changing. In recent years, several major data breaches have come to light. In 2021, it was revealed that thousands of GGD employees could access the personal and medical data of everyone who had been tested for corona, and in 2022, the Dutch crypto platform Bitvavo was hit, allowing some users to see other customers' data. Over the past 5 years, more than 114,000 data breach reports have been filed in the Netherlands, making the Netherlands the leader in Europe(2). To mitigate these risks, we are increasingly seeing countries introduce stricter regulations around data protection and privacy to protect nationally generated data.

3. Economic pressure
Due to persistent economic uncertainty and rapidly rising prices, economic growth in the Netherlands slowed down during 2022(3). When countries support local Cloud providers (sovereign Cloud), they can stimulate their own economies, creating a cycle of investment and growth.

4. Public Cloud security
Research by VMware has shown that 42% of companies are very or even extremely concerned about critical data managed by American Cloud providers(4). 62% even indicate that their current Cloud does not meet data sovereignty requirements.

5. Cyberattacks
A sovereign Cloud is built on an enterprise platform and adapted by the Cloud provider to comply with local data protection laws and regulations. Certified providers use advanced security methods to protect applications and data in the Cloud against increasing cyberattacks.

6. Geopolitical changes
Geopolitical changes are increasing the need for a sovereign Cloud. Think, for example, of the war in Ukraine or the corona pandemic. Many organizations want to guarantee their continuity at all times and be less dependent on the large global Cloud providers.

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In summary: the demand for a sovereign Cloud is high. This is partly due to increasing digitalization and data generation. Just think about it yourself: you probably also went 'digital' during the corona pandemic because working from home became the standard. An ideal solution, but it also sparked a discussion. After all, how is all that business-critical data properly secured? Furthermore, the question arises: which powers can access my data? Think of major powers like America, Russia, and China. This has been accelerated by, among other things, the wars in Ukraine and now also in Israel.

Over the coming weeks, we will publish a blog on this topic every week. In this 4-part series, we will discuss topics such as data classification, Cloud strategies, and the benefits of a sovereign Cloud.

Sources:
(1) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/871513/worldwide-data-created/
(2) BNR, https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/technologie/10514810/nederland-is-koploper-datalekken-binnen-europa
(3) CBS, https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/longread/de-nederlandse-economie/2023/de-nederlandse-economie-in-2022?onepage=true
(4) VMware, https://news.vmware.com/emea/apps-cloud/navigating-dora-with-a-cloud-smart-strategy

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