Digital Sovereignty: Why Companies Should Act Now

Every day, the amount of data that companies collect, process, and store grows. At the same time, legal requirements for data protection and data processing are increasing. Companies are therefore faced with the task of managing sensitive information not only efficiently, but also responsibly. This is precisely where the issue of digital sovereignty, especially with regard to data, is becoming increasingly important.

What Does Digital Sovereignty Mean?

For companies, digital sovereignty means controlling, using, and developing their digital infrastructures, data, and applications independently. Essentially, it is about avoiding dependencies on individual providers – such as through vendor lock-in – reliably protecting data privacy and trade secrets, and being able to comply with legal requirements at all times. Digital sovereignty therefore encompasses technological freedom, clear data sovereignty, and the ability to act independently and securely  –whether in the cloud, on-premises, or in hybrid models.

• Control over your own data – also known as data sovereignty –
  Companies know where their data is stored, who has access to it, and can dispose of it at any time.
• Independence from individual providers
  Technologies and providers can be changed, data is exportable and not tied to proprietary platforms.
• Legal certainty
  Data protection, compliance, and retention requirements can be reliably met – regardless of the hosting model.
• Security and availability
  Data is protected against manipulation, remains unchanged, and is available in the long term, even in the event of failures or changes to cloud services.
• Strategic freedom of choice
  Companies retain the choice between cloud, hybrid, and on-premises solutions and can plan their IT for the long term.

Why Data Sovereignty Is So Important for Companies

The current global political situation is causing many companies to take a more critical view of international cloud providers. Digital sovereignty is becoming increasingly important in this context: it strengthens independence and capacity to act in the digital space, prevents unilateral dependence on a few – mostly foreign – tech companies, and protects sensitive data from unwanted access, for example through laws such as the US CLOUD Act. At the same time, it increases resilience to cyber espionage and sabotage.

What Does This Look Like in Everyday Business Life?

Above all, it is important to identify risks early on and consciously manage technological dependencies. Data sovereignty does not mean having to operate every IT solution yourself. Many manufacturers now offer different operating models – from cloud to on-premises to hybrid variants – so that companies can choose exactly the solution that suits their requirements.

How Companies Achieve Data Sovereignty

Data sovereignty requires conscious decisions and the right measures. Companies should consider several aspects and ask themselves the following questions:

• Transparency: Where is my data located and who has access to it?
• Flexibility: Which IT solutions support cloud and on-premises models?
• Compliance: How can legal requirements be reliably met?
• Risks: What dependencies exist and how trustworthy are external providers? Is my data adequately protected?

MailStore: Data Sovereignty in Email Archiving

The topic of email in particular highlights the importance of data sovereignty in practice. This is because email is one of the most important means of communication in companies. Emails contain business-critical and personal data and are subject to numerous legal requirements, such as data protection and long-term storage.

Microsoft is the world’s leading cloud provider of email and office applications. In addition to Microsoft 365, many companies also use the integrated archiving function, as it appears straightforward and cost-effective at first glance. At the same time, however, this creates a strong dependency.

If both the archive and the production system are in the hands of one provider, vendor lock-in becomes a reality. As the email archive grows, changing providers becomes increasingly costly. In addition, cloud outages or security incidents affect not only active mailboxes but also archived email data. As the market leader, Microsoft is one of the most lucrative targets for hackers, and unfortunately, zero-day exploits and successful data thefts occur time and again.

This is where MailStore comes in, offering independent email archiving – either on your own servers or in the MailStore Cloud. This allows companies to retain control over their email data, ensure access even in the event of external service failures, and remain flexible in their choice of email provider. At the same time, the data is stored in Germany and is subject to German and European law – an important aspect in better protecting sensitive email information from access by foreign authorities and consciously reducing digital dependencies.

In short, data sovereignty is increasingly becoming a strategic task for companies. MailStore helps reduce dependencies on individual providers and archive email data in a self-determined, secure, and flexible manner under European law.