Sixty-one percent of  Western European CIOs and IT leaders said geopolitical factors will increase their reliance on local or regional cloud providers, according to a survey from Gartner.

The survey was conducted online from May through July 2025 among 241 CIOs and IT leaders in Western Europe to determine their cloud-related technology purchases and adoption.

Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, organisations in Western Europe are increasingly worried about their digital sovereignty – having their data, operations, and technology hosted by foreign cloud providers and relying on foreign cloud infrastructure. Gartner predicts that by 2030, more than 75% of all enterprises outside of the U.S. will have a digital sovereignty strategy, supported by a sovereign cloud strategy.

Speaking at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Barcelona, Rene Buest, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner, said “Many Western European organisations can’t run all of their workloads or core systems in a non-European cloud environment. This is either because they are subject to specific regulations, their customers demand it, or they are considered part of a country’s critical infrastructure.”

Some Western European organisations have begun seeking ways to reduce their reliance on global cloud providers. Fifty-three percent of Western European CIOs and IT leaders said geopolitics will restrict their organisations’ future use of global cloud providers.

Organisations Could Consider Geopatriation and Open-Source Technologies

Some organisations in Western Europe are considering moving their workloads from global cloud vendors to local alternatives.

For others, open source could be a viable option. Fifty-five percent of CIOs and IT leaders said open-source technologies will be an important factor in their future cloud strategies.

While open-source favours customisation and flexibility, it also presents challenges as many projects are complex and smaller projects often need to be coordinated with one another.

Speaking at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo in Barcelona, Rene Buest, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner, said “Many Western European organisations can’t run all of their workloads or core systems in a non-European cloud environment. This is either because they are subject to specific regulations, their customers demand it, or they are considered part of a country’s critical infrastructure.

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“Organisations that have been slower to adopt cloud technologies are now in a favorable position to plan for greater digital sovereignty.

“Since they mainly have legacy systems, they can carefully choose which cloud solutions or platforms are best suited for each part of their operations.

“Overall, CIOs and IT leaders must take responsibility for their organisation’s digital destiny. “They must create and protect their own organisation’s digital sovereignty.

“No one else will protect their organisation’s digital sovereignty – neither their cloud provider nor their service provider.”