What is a Sovereign Cloud?

A sovereign cloud is a cloud environment that enables an organization to meet digital sovereignty requirements. Most organizations aim to protect individuals' personal data under various sovereignty regulations. However, the scope can sometimes be broader, encompassing intellectual property, software, business methods, financial data, IT infrastructure information, and even metadata describing the size of a dataset and how quickly it grows. A sovereign cloud can be hosted in a facility owned by a cloud computing provider and accessed by users and IT systems outside the organization’s cloud via the internet or through dedicated communication links not connected to the internet.

A sovereign cloud can also be configured as a separate "cloud-like" setup within a large organization’s own data center. This setup functions as a cloud environment and is maintained by the cloud service provider but is physically isolated from the outside world.

A sovereign cloud has a certain level of one or more of the following six capabilities, with specific features depending on geographical, regional, and other requirements:

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1. Access restrictions that limit the use of the sovereign cloud to users, software, systems, and services of a specific company and its partners, customers, and suppliers, certain geographical regions, or even individuals within an organization with specific nationalities or security clearances.

2. Organizational control over the location of a sovereign cloud, such as a specific country or region, or in the data center of a service provider or the customer, also known as data residency.

3. Compliance with specific governmental, regulatory, or industry requirements, including technical specifications, as well as certain legal, contractual, and business practices to adhere to relevant laws and regulations.

4. Operational support from the cloud service provider that meets the high expectations of customers and legal requirements for security clearances, nationality, and residency of its employees.

5. Dedicated network capacity, which can range from secure VPNs over the public internet to air-gapped regions that are completely isolated from the internet and the cloud provider’s other customers.

6. Advanced encryption, where the cloud service provider may maintain encryption keys, or the customer can bring their own keys, ensuring the cloud service provider can never see or access the data.

 

Key Takeaways

• Implementing digital sovereignty through a sovereign cloud supports data compliance, technical expertise, business and continuity assurance, supply chain efficiency, and geopolitical resilience.

• Challenges for cloud sovereignty include finding a service provider that understands all regulations, can assist in determining the required protection levels, and possesses the relevant certifications and appropriate legal entities for compliance.

• Sovereign clouds are generally connected to the internet and accessible via secure, encrypted connections and protocols. In some cases, an air-gapped cloud may be necessary.

• For data sovereignty, data must be encrypted with approved protocols, whether stored in a database or file system or transmitted over a network.

• Expect the number and complexity of digital sovereignty laws and regulations to increase, with severe financial and criminal penalties for failing compliance checks or data breaches involving regulated data.