// FEATURE //

FOR FORWARD- THINKING UK SMES, DATA SOVEREIGNTY IS NO LONGER JUST A COMPLIANCE CHECKBOX – IT’ S A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN AN INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE DIGITAL WORLD. in Europe. Whilst the protection of data is a global imperative, this clashes with the UK and EU’ s GDPR rules, which stress the importance of consent and legal process. While GDPR emphasises the protection of data and the requirement of consent for its use, the US Cloud Act is opposite in its approach, granting US authorities access to data regardless of consent and where it’ s hosted.

Considering the current volatility of the market and the data privacy risk posed by the US Cloud Act, the implications of continuing to use US hyperscalers has led many European businesses to question their reliance on heavyweights, like AWS, Google and Microsoft. Switching to EU providers is viewed not only as the most feasible option, but also the most attractive and secure one. leaders calling for greater control over European data; witnessed in a recent letter demanding the creation of a EuroStack of technology. This co-ordinated push is already taking shape, with many new initiatives being introduced.

For example, European Cloud leaders Aruba, IONOS and Dynamo have introduced Sovereign European Cloud API( SECA), creating a truly sovereign infrastructure that maintains the highest security standards while ensuring full compliance with European regulations.

European businesses are responding to these initiatives, with a rise in online queries about EU data hosting options also on the rise. The total number of visitors to sites such as european-alternatives. eu, which explores European alternatives for digital services

The rise of EU data sovereignty initiatives

There is a clear shift in the mindset towards prioritising data sovereignty, with industry

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