Capgemini Research Institute has released a report that finds 59% of organisations consider full digital sovereignty an unrealistic goal, as businesses increasingly focus on resilience, control over critical technologies and reducing dependence on individual technology providers.
The report, Digital Sovereignty: From Policy Ambition to Executive Imperative, is based on a survey of 1,300 business and technology executives. It found that 93% of organisations have discussed digital sovereignty at the board level, while 44% rank it among the board’s top priorities.
Two-thirds of respondents define digital sovereignty in terms of “resilient interdependence”, favouring selective control of critical technologies alongside external partnerships rather than complete ownership of their technology stack. More than half believe they can strengthen digital sovereignty without compromising competitiveness.
Capgemini’s Digital Sovereignty Index, which analysed 866 organisations across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, found that 86% have significant exposure to foreign or externally controlled supply chains.
Operational resilience against geopolitical volatility and disruption was cited by four in five respondents as a primary driver of digital sovereignty initiatives. Artificial intelligence has also emerged as a priority, with three-quarters of respondents identifying AI as a key area of focus.
The report found differences in how organisations approach sovereignty across regions. In APAC, 41% primarily associate digital sovereignty with risk mitigation and resilience, compared with 52% in continental Europe and 56% in the UK. In the US, 52% primarily view it through a compliance lens.
Challenges remain around visibility into technology dependencies and the ability to switch providers. Only 14% of organisations reported end-to-end visibility into dependencies across their technology ecosystems. More than a third said moving away from a critical technology provider would take over 12 months, while one in 10 said they had no viable alternative provider.
Karine Brunet, Chief Operations and Delivery Officer at Capgemini and member of the Group Executive Board, said: “Today’s organisations operate in highly interconnected technology ecosystems where complete independence is rarely achievable. Digital sovereignty is therefore not about full autonomy but more about ensuring organisations have a clear understanding of their technology dependencies, in order to regain the control and flexibility to manage risks.”
“This will enable them to build the best, pragmatic roadmap to meet their strategic objectives – taking into account data localisation, access control, operations, regulatory and technology constraints. The real challenge will be to build resilience without sacrificing competitiveness, to drive innovation and long-term growth.”