Interest in data sovereignty among UK IT leaders has surged since the implementation of the US’s raft of tariffs in April, research from Civo shows.

More than 60% now feel that the UK government’s use of US cloud services exposes the country’s digital economy to significant risks, damages its domestic industry, and threatens data security.

The survey received responses from over 1000 UK-based IT leaders, and painted a picture of an industry seriously rethinking fundamental business priorities, particularly with regard to reliance on US providers.

Three in five (60%) of those surveyed now feel that data sovereignty is a strategic priority for their organisations. Nearly half of those surveyed (45%) are already actively considering repatriating from the cloud, and 40% say that transparency and greater compliance with EU and UK data protection regulations would make them more likely to move away from US providers.

This trend isn’t limited to the cloud either, the research found. After a period of rapid AI adoption, many organisations are assessing how this is impacting their data strategy.

Over two-thirds of respondents said they’d only agree to use AI if they had absolute certainty that they owned all inputs and outputs – a level of visibility and control not offered by the majority of the largest providers.

This tallies with what appears to be a broader erosion of trust in the largest providers, with only 36.6% saying they trust Big Tech AI providers to handle their data.

The research revealed that after market reputation, data sovereignty now ranks as the second most prominent factor encouraging businesses to move away from Big Tech AI services, ahead of price, breadth of services, and team experience. Data sovereignty is shifting from an additional selling point to a business-critical necessity.

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“These results will be no surprise to anyone with their ear to the ground in the industry. People are more alert than ever to just how valuable their data is, and it’s been astonishing how quickly cloud repatriation and sovereignty have become leading strategic considerations for IT leaders,” said Mark Boost, CEO of Civo. “The market is crying out for greater visibility over where data is stored, used, and transferred, and at present, U.S. providers are failing to meet that demand.

“For our public institutions, the message couldn’t be clearer. Legislation like the CLOUD Act means that at any time, providers based in the U.S. may have to share users’ data, regardless of where in the world that user is based or where their data is stored.

“This prevents U.S providers from offering users full control, and when it comes to government data, anything less than full sovereignty represents a significant risk. It’s time for the UK to match the energy of European sovereignty initiatives like EuroStack to help reduce reliance on hyperscale providers whilst still encouraging transatlantic collaboration.”

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