Geopolitics push European CIOs to think local on cloud

"A survey of CIOs and tech leaders in Western Europe has found 61 percent want to increase their use of local cloud providers amid global geopolitical uncertainty. Around half (53 percent) said geopolitics would restrict their use of global providers in the future. Gartner surveyed 241 CIOs and IT leaders in Western Europe between May and July. It found that ongoing geopolitical tension was fueling concerns over digital sovereignty."

"The global analyst company forecasts that by 2030, more than three-quarters of all large organizations outside of the US would have a digital sovereignty strategy, supported by a sovereign cloud strategy. Rene Buest, senior director analyst, said: "Many Western European organizations can't run all of their workloads or core systems in a non-European cloud environment. This is either because they are subject to specific regulations, their customers demand it, or they are considered part of a country's critical infrastructure.""

"However, the shift away from globally dominant US cloud providers would take time. "While geopatriation can enable local cloud options to meet geopolitical needs, full independence from global tech vendors will take several years of ongoing effort and investments by local providers," Buest said. As a result, organizations that have been slow to adopt cloud infrastructure might be at an advantage as the run legacy systems, and can decide on cloud solutions or platforms suited to each part of their operation, he added."

Gartner surveyed 241 CIOs and IT leaders in Western Europe between May and July and found 61 percent want to increase use of local cloud providers amid geopolitical uncertainty. Around 53 percent said geopolitics would restrict future use of global providers. Ongoing geopolitical tension is driving concerns over digital sovereignty and potential risks from reliance on US cloud infrastructure for data, operations, and technology. Gartner forecasts that by 2030 most large organizations outside the US will adopt digital sovereignty and sovereign cloud strategies. Transitioning from dominant US providers will require years of investment, and legacy systems may offer strategic flexibility.

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