Data storage requirements are growing. Data sovereignty is one of the new priorities

The more companies decide to keep their data in the cloud, the more pressing it becomes to control where and how it is processed. This is confirmed by reports. Due to regulations and security concerns, the location of data processing is of great importance for almost every second company. It influences investment in technology, according to research firm IDC (Cloud Pulse 2Q22).

Things used to be simple. Companies stored data on their servers, in their own offices or factories. They had a sense of complete control over the information they processed. However, with the increasing migration of corporate data to the cloud, the situation is changing.

The majority of digital data is located in… the US

Today’s data is dispersed and maintained by hundreds of cloud providers in different regions of the world, with varying regulations. All this makes digital sovereignty increasingly important.

According to the data cited by the World Economic Forum as much as 92 percent of Western countries’ data is stored in the US, and there is not a single company from Europe in the global ranking of the 20 most powerful technology brands. This is prompting European governments to take steps towards technological independence and self-sufficiency. One way of doing this is through regulation, particularly how data is stored.

Data sovereignty means that data is stored and processed on the territory of a country and is subject to its regulations and legal protection. In Poland, there are already industries obliged by the letter of the law to process digital information in the country. This includes companies in the financial sector, the insurance sector or representatives of public administration.

– The fact that we live in the age of data, which is the fuel of the 21st century, is not overstated. This is understood by both EU leaders and businesses, which increasingly want guarantees from cloud and data center providers regarding the location of data processing and storage. Especially as this can be critical to the security of businesses, this is why we have launched a sovereign cloud service for Polish private and public sector customers, which is exclusively located in Beyond.pl’s Polish data centers, points out Wojciech Stramski CEO of Beyond.pl, a data center, cloud, and Managed Services provider.

Only 4% of companies do not pay attention to data sovereignty

According to the Cloud Pulse 2Q22 survey conducted by consulting company IDC, data sovereignty and compliance with local regulations are important in shaping IT architecture for almost half of the 1,350 global cloud customers surveyed (48 percent). Actual control over data, its collection, storage, use and management is becoming one of the key topics in discussions about the global internet.

Only 4 percent of respondents believe their organizations will not consider data sovereignty and local compliance issues when choosing technologies.

Every country has its own customs or data processing regulations

The Vanson Bourne report commissioned by VMware in 2022 shows that as many as 137 countries out of 194 analyzed have their own laws governing how data is stored, and most of these are constantly changing. This is a big problem for businesses, especially large global organizations. Not surprisingly, ensuring data sovereignty is a significant challenge for up to 95 percent of those surveyed. This makes them increasingly turn to local cloud services that remain compliant with legal requirements.

– Cloud sovereignty does not only relate to the location of the data centers where cloud environments are maintained. The operational and technical conditions of the cloud are also necessary, allowing the user to choose the infrastructure configuration that suits them and ensures regulatory compliance. As there are more and more cloud operators on the market, including those from outside Europe, and practically every country has a set of its regulations governing data storage within their borders, customers should pay attention to the partner’s location, its certifications and verify the service’s compliance with local guidelines, says Wojciech Darłowski, Beyond.pl’s Board Member for Cloud and Managed Services.

10% of IT budget for investments in data sovereignty

According to IDC, in the next four years, half of the European organizations will spend 10 percent of their budgets to comply with the principles of digital sovereignty adopted in the European Union. Investments will include on-premises infrastructure and platforms, new data management applications and the redesign of internal mechanisms to ensure the required compliance.

One sector where data sovereignty legislation in the context of the cloud is increasingly important is the European public sector. According to Capgemini’s report ‘The journey to cloud sovereignty’, up to 76 percent of public sector organizations globally say they have implemented cloud data sovereignty solutions to ensure compliance.