Taking control of your digital destiny

Cloud sovereignty has evolved beyond mere data residency, embracing AI and virtualization as interconnected aspects. Red Hat's Ashesh Badani explains that modern organizations are managing legacy virtual machines while increasingly adopting AI-native workloads. A single platform should accommodate both containers and machines, as many legacy VMs coexist with new cloud-native workloads.

Sovereignty is an ongoing journey, not a one-time project. Regulators in various sectors demand a precise definition of sovereignty, understanding that it's not solely about geography or governance. It's about maintaining control over digital decisions, resources, and data.

Organizations must address three factors: the ability to run AI models anywhere, ensuring data stays under organizational control within required jurisdictions, and the capacity to audit and, if necessary, override AI decisions. It's crucial to recognize that sovereignty isn't defined by physical location; it's defined by authority.

Jon Tullett, IDC's associate research director for IT services and cloud, emphasizes that digital sovereignty is about taking control of one's digital destiny, not just residency or governance. This requires continuous evaluation of risks, cloud estate, and partners as technology and regulations evolve.

Practical steps for organizations include bringing together the CIO, CISO, and Data Protection Officer to discuss digital sovereignty at the highest level. This cross-functional approach shifts the conversation from theoretical risk to practical ownership. Classifying and mapping risks based on impact and probability rather than frequency is essential. High-impact, low-probability risks shouldn't reshape an entire system, while high-probability risks demand more attention.

Ultimately, digital sovereignty is a holistic strategy that requires a balanced approach, with resources allocated based on the specific risks faced by each organization.