The Path to Digital Sovereignty: Why an Open Ecosystem Is the Key for Europe

In an increasingly complex technology landscape, digital sovereignty has moved from a theoretical concept to an urgent strategic imperative for European organizations and governments. Recent global events—from supply chain disruptions to geopolitical conflicts—have underscored the critical need for greater control over their technology. Digital sovereignty is a strategic effort for organizations to build greater resilience, choice and confidence into IT environments.

This isn’t a move towards isolation, with true sovereignty requiring more than just local data centers. Businesses are re-evaluating their provider dependencies and are increasingly looking for a flexible approach that allows them to define their own digital destiny through a collaborative and open ecosystem of partners.…

Four Pillars of Sovereignty

While data residency is crucial, it’s just one part of a larger, more complex picture. An effective sovereign cloud solution is built on four interconnected pillars:

Assurance Sovereignty: Verifying that processes and security standards are met, and verifying that platforms are built to the required standards and certified for regulated industries like banking and government.
Operational Sovereignty: Maintaining control over system management, monitoring, and who deploys and maintains the systems.
Data Sovereignty: Having control over where data is stored and processed, and maintaining a high level of protection from extra-territorial influences.
Technical Sovereignty: Exerting full control of IT environments by using open standards and technology to prevent dependencies on specific providers.

Applying an Ecosystem-Centric Framework for Sovereignty

An open source approach is fundamental to a sovereignty strategy because it provides a transparent foundation where customers can inspect and trust the underlying technology. However, technology alone isn’t enough; a strong partner ecosystem—particularly in Europe—is essential to act as a multiplier, helping organizations to meet their sovereignty goals. The practical application of these principles comes to life through collaboration with a diverse set of partners aligned to sovereignty’s pillars:

Assurance Sovereignty: This is addressed by a combination of technology and advisory partners. Security companies and other technology partners work to enrich the platform and confirm that it meets industry security standards and certifications. Additionally, advisory partners and global system integrators (GSIs) help define what sovereignty means for a specific customer or government and validate that the correct processes are being followed.
Operational Sovereignty: This is achieved through the close collaboration of cloud providers, both regional cloud providers and hyperscalers, and other operational partners, who maintain systems and infrastructure for a more resilient and stable operational environment. This includes partners offering Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions.
Data Sovereignty: This pillar relies on partners who specialize in auditing, data classification, and data management to help store and process data according to relevant regulations, and that control remains with the customer.
Technical Sovereignty: An open source model is central to technical sovereignty. This approach provides a choice of providers and technologies, always having access to the source code, preventing vendor dependencies. The transparency of open source also lets customers inspect the source code, building confidence in the technology they are building on.

The Opportunity for Collaborative Growth

The market for sovereign solutions is growing, evidenced by the increasing number of certifications for sovereign providers across Europe. This presents a significant opportunity for technology companies and their partners to collaborate on building sovereign platforms. The conversation has broadened to include new players who are looking for open, flexible solutions that can help them address these new market dynamics, particularly in light of shifts from legacy systems. Our open source technologies integrate the diverse capabilities of our local partners, ensuring customers get a certified and compliant sovereign solution. We actively connect customers looking to establish or strengthen their digital independence with the right mix of cloud providers and system integrators to meet their regional and compliance needs. This orchestration accelerates the path to digital autonomy. By working together, the ecosystem can help customers and governments achieve their sovereignty objectives and build a more resilient digital future for Europe.

As Vice President of Red Hat’s partner ecosystem business in EMEA, Penny is responsible for driving an ecosystem-first mindset and continuing to expand the organization’s footprint across the region through valued partners. Having worked in the IT industry for over 30 years, Penny has extensive experience running partner ecosystem teams within a range of regions both within EMEA and globally, as well as building different routes to market. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks and Oracle where she worked for 25 years and was the youngest female vice president in Oracle EMEA.

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