Particularly in times of growing technological dependencies and rapid developments in the fields of cloud computing and AI, this discrepancy is increasingly becoming a risk. This is shown by the industry-specific report on the ‘Digital Sovereignty Index’, which adesso has published in collaboration with the Handelsblatt Research Institute.
Companies Overestimate
Their Own Level of Sovereignty Digital sovereignty is considered important across all sectors. Almost all companies (95 to 100 per cent) attach great importance to it. Nevertheless, there is a significant gap between aspiration and reality. In all sectors examined, the self-assessment of companies deviates noticeably from the actual calculated level of sovereignty. Many organisations believe they are better positioned, but on average they overestimate their level of sovereignty by several percentage points.
Companies in the financial services sector and the construction industry are most likely to assess their level of maturity realistically. Yet even here, both self-assessments and external evaluations still fall far short of the target level. In the other sectors examined, the discrepancy is even greater.
The result is a lack of transparency regarding actual dependencies – and thus an increased risk of strategic misjudgements.
Misplaced Priorities and a Lack of Strategic Guidance
A key reason for this lies in the choice of measures. Companies often set the wrong priorities. The focus is primarily on data protection and cybersecurity. These are important issues, but they cover only certain aspects of a comprehensive understanding of digital sovereignty.
The fact that digital sovereignty is often not prioritised despite its importance is also evident in the strategic agenda: only around 28 per cent of companies count it among their most important digital issues.
Crucial levers for reducing dependencies, however, often remain untapped. These include, for example, the use of European or German data centres, multi-vendor strategies, or the increased use of open-source technologies. In many organisations, there is a lack of a clear vision or knowledge of how digital sovereignty can be implemented in practice.
Furthermore, digital sovereignty is often still regarded as a purely IT issue. In many sectors, responsibility lies primarily with the relevant departments – in production, for example, this is the case in more than half of companies. Strategic anchoring at board level is rare. As a result, the issue remains operational rather than becoming a guiding principle for key technology and investment decisions.
Dependencies on Cloud and AI Continue to Grow
The situation is particularly critical when it comes to key technologies such as cloud computing and AI. With the exception of financial services providers, digital sovereignty has so far played a minor role in these future-oriented technologies across many sectors. Only around two-thirds of respondents (64 per cent) take relevant aspects into account when it comes to AI. This represents the lowest figure among all sectors examined.
At the same time, dependencies on individual providers are particularly high in this area. As usage increases, so too do the structural risks, for example through long-term commitments to proprietary platforms and ecosystems.
