The Bottom Line: Digital sovereignty requires a hybrid infrastructure combining cloud, on-premises and colocation rather than monolithic approaches.
Organizations must strategically combine cloud, on-premises and colocation to achieve digital sovereignty. Regulatory requirements such as NIS2 and GDPR, geopolitical risks and rising AI workloads force a well-thought-out mixed strategy instead of black-and-white decisions.
90 percent of companies already use cloud computing, with investments rising continuously. However, current studies show ambivalence: 64 percent feel compelled to use cloud services because many software solutions are only available there. 53 percent see themselves as dependent on cloud providers. Multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud models are becoming the new standard to reduce this dependency.
Regulatory pressure and geopolitical uncertainty are increasing the need for control. NIS2, DORA and GDPR require organizations to document data flows, access and responsibilities in a traceable manner. Conflicts and sanctions can make dependency on large hyperscalers a genuine risk to data sovereignty and availability. At the same time, AI workloads require greater computing power and control over sensitive training, customer or business data. 96 percent of surveyed organizations expect digital sovereignty to become increasingly relevant over the next three years.
However, a complete withdrawal from the cloud is unrealistic for most companies. Operating modern data centers on-premises is costly, and IT professionals are scarce. Colocation offers a practical middle ground here: organizations gain more control over management than with public cloud models, but carry less operational load than with a fully on-premises solution. When selecting a colocation provider, CTOs should pay attention to regular recertifications (ISO 27001, ISAE 3402, DIN EN 50600), demand regular stress tests and verify technical scalability.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published July 8, 2026
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