Increased Dependence on American Tech Companies Sparking Anxiety Among IT Decision-makers
With escalating concerns about the influence of major US cloud providers, UK IT leaders are urging a reduction in the government's reliance on US cloud services. A survey from Civo, involving over a thousand UK IT leaders, indicates that approximately 60% of respondents prioritize cutting the use of US cloud services due to digital economy security risks and the potential impact on the domestic cloud industry.
Data sovereignty has become a top strategic concern for 61% of respondents, and nearly half (45%) are currently exploring the repatriation of workloads due to lingering data protection concerns. Regulatory compliance considerations are also becoming pivotal in organizations' data protection and privacy outlooks, with around 40% citing transparency and adherence to both EU and UK data protection regulations as influential factors in their relationships with US cloud providers.
Mark Boost, Civo's chief executive, states that the survey findings indicate a changing industry perspective towards big US tech firms. He points out that organizations have grown increasingly vigilant about the value of their data and are increasingly focusing on cloud repatriation and data sovereignty as leading strategic considerations. Boost emphasizes that the market requires greater visibility into where data is stored, utilized, and transferred, and existing providers fail to meet this demand.
Trust in US-based big tech providers has dwindled in recent months due to political tensions across the Atlantic. For instance, Microsoft pledged to fight for the protection of European data from American overreach following President Trump's signing of a memorandum supporting US companies, which suggested that European regulations, like the Digital Markets Act (DMA), were impeding US tech companies. More recently, Google Cloud introduced updates to its sovereignty services to address European enterprise concerns over data protection.
Concerns over data sovereignty, however, are not new to the industry, especially within the EU, where efforts to bolster data protection have escalated alongside the introduction of new regulations. Hyperscale cloud providers have started adapting to these changing customer needs, with Microsoft, Google, and AWS offering sovereign cloud services. Other major players, such as IBM and Oracle, provide similar services through managed offerings.
Oracle, in particular, has been proactive in the last 18 months, with CTO and chairman Larry Ellison advocating for cloud sovereignty in the region. Last year, Ellison predicted a widespread shift towards national sovereign cloud setups and government efforts to keep data within their respective countries. Closely monitoring these trends, Civo highlights that the heightened focus on cloud sovereignty shows no signs of waning, with data sovereignty now ranking as the second-most pressing matter for businesses.
Data sovereignty concerns gain momentum in the face of growing AI adoption, with organizations insisting on absolute certainty over their ownership and control of data inputs and outputs. Approximately two-thirds of respondents revealed they would only use AI services where they can ensure ownership of data inputs and outputs. Ensuring data sovereignty allows organizations to maintain control while complying with multiple regulatory frameworks in a complex global landscape.
- The survey findings indicate that UK IT leaders are prioritizing a reduction in the government's reliance on US cloud services due to digital economy security risks and potential impact on the domestic cloud industry.
- Regulatory compliance considerations are becoming increasingly important in organizations' data protection and privacy outlooks, with around 40% citing transparency and adherence to both EU and UK data protection regulations as influential factors in their relationships with US cloud providers.
- In response to these concerns, hyperscale cloud providers like Microsoft, Google, and AWS have started offering sovereign cloud services, and other major players such as IBM and Oracle provide similar services through managed offerings.
- Oracle, in particular, has been proactive in the last 18 months, with CTO and chairman Larry Ellison advocating for cloud sovereignty in the region, predicting a widespread shift towards national sovereign cloud setups and government efforts to keep data within their respective countries.
