Euro execs mull use of US clouds

Summary

Amid the economic uncertainty of Trump 2.0, dependence on American tech has become a growing concern for many businesses, and a survey of 1,000 IT leaders claims that data sovereignty is now one of the most pressing issues. This comes from research carried out by Civo, a UK-based cloud operator which undoubtedly has skin in the game, having campaigned against what it sees as unfair practices by the hyperscalers for some time. Nevertheless, the figures making for interesting reading in the context of the Trump tariff war the US is waging against much of the world – except perhaps Russia. The "The Digital Sovereignty Revolution" survey found 84 percent of UK IT leaders are now concerned that geopolitical developments could threaten their ability to access and control their data, and 61 percent of organizations say sovereignty is a strategic priority. This doesn't just apply to themselves; according to Civo, 60 percent of respondents believe the British government should stop procuring cloud services from US companies in the wake of the tariffs imposed on UK imports by Trump. When it does come to their own organizations, though, nearly half (45 percent) of the 1,000 techies polled indicated they are actively considering repatriating data from the big hyperscaler platforms, and 37 percent said they are concerned the US government could sequester their data, a concern which is naturally greater among those working in sectors with strict regulatory obligations. (They are right to be concerned: the US CLOUD Act allows law enforcement agencies in America to demand access to data held by any US company, even if that data is stored on servers located in other countries.) Only 35 percent of organizations claimed to have full visibility into where their data is stored and processed, while 82 percent would consider switching from the big US tech firms in order to gain more control over data location and governance – the latter no doubt music to Civo's ears. "These results will b...