Preparing for sovereignty: how to thrive in today’s economy

In today’s world of growing cyberthreats and an everchanging regulatory landscape, there are two words that are consistently at the center of conversations: Data and Trust.

At IBM, we have long understood the importance of these words. And as we all know, trust is not something you get – it’s something you earn. We’ve built our incredible technology history on a foundation of integrity and continue to create meaningful solutions that will help shape the next wave of technology innovation.

For more than a century, IBM has earned the trust of our clients by responsibly managing their most valuable data, and we have worked to earn the trust of society by ushering powerful new technologies into the world earnestly and with clear purpose.?

To thrive in today’s economy, organizations need to access a trusted, global data ecosystem. But issues around data access and ownership are becoming more complex. As a result, we’re seeing an increase in global laws and regulations to reduce risk and preserve?privacy, security, safety and ethical standards.?

Four years ago, the European Union’s (EU) enactment of?the General Data Protection Regulation?(GDPR) aimed to improve security practices and brought personal data protection to the forefront for businesses. Today, the newly proposed?Data Act,?summarized as an act by the European Commission, aims to facilitate access to and use of data, including business-to-business and business-to-government, and to review the rules of legal protection of databases.?

For global organizations,?evolving regulations and growing legislation should serve as?a reminder that data privacy and protection requirements?can help?proactively safeguard customer and employee data everywhere it’s stored and shared.??

The intersection of sovereignty and innovation

Countries across the world are examining what data sovereignty means to them -- especially as it relates to technology. But often, when people talk about sovereignty, not everyone is talking about the same thing.?

For example, data sovereignty is especially important for enterprises because it is based on the idea that data is subject to the laws and governance structures within the nation it is collected. This means that if a company is doing business amongst different countries, the data it collects within each country could be under very different protection requirements, and the operational compliance response from enterprises will need to adapt accordingly.?

On the other hand, digital sovereignty is of concern at the national level where regulatory policy is decided and enforced. When countries talk about digital sovereignty, they often are referring to the ability to have control over their own digital destiny – including the data, hardware and software they create – ensuring that, as a sovereign nation, they are not relying on foreign tech companies to safe-guard their data and enable their digital economies.

Like any complex topic, it’s important to break sovereignty down into pieces that can be dealt with in real, practical ways. For companies addressing data sovereignty, addressing the individual layers that make up sovereignty can better prepare them for a variety of scenarios they may face and allow them to address the unique requirements of the country they are doing business in.?

Understanding the building blocks of Sovereign Cloud

Against a backdrop of shifting economic forces, the proliferation of cloud technologies has introduced Sovereign Cloud – an?emerging?operating model for the industry that aims to help organizations meet the legal, regulatory and operational requirements of a given jurisdiction.?

Enterprises should look at sovereignty as a composite set of stackable layers that encompass?data privacy, data residency, service locality and governance. These interconnected components are all sovereignty enablers and together, build toward a holistic vision of Sovereign Cloud.?

By first understanding the foundation of sovereignty, we can pave the way to a better understanding of the shifting and interlocked forces of regulation, enterprise priorities and technology capabilities that are shaping cloud consumption around the world.?

The future of talent as data sovereignty grows

Data sovereignty looks different for every country, and some nations are more restrictive than others. For example, some countries may require that a company’s cloud is operated and run locally and under their control only.?

While each jurisdiction is autonomous in its decision-making, economic trends suggest to me that wider access to talent, culture and ideas are pre-requisites to competing effectively in today’s world. If data sovereignty means it is no longer possible to access the best international talent, at what point does this become an inhibitor to innovation and progress?

While we don’t know what the future holds, if talent needs to remain in-country, it will be critical that there are sufficient high skilled workers to meet the challenge.??

Looking ahead

Data sovereignty is an evolving concept that organizations will need to adapt to. But as they get started, it’s important to remember that the whole problem doesn’t need to be solved in one fell swoop to get where you need to be. By breaking down sovereignty into more manageable layers, companies can decide how and where to focus.??

So as you think about data sovereignty and how your organization can address requirements, I challenge you to take it layer by layer – one step at a time. As you strive to diversify and reduce risk, discover how a?hybrid cloud?approach can help.