Digital Sovereignty: Our Data. Our Rules.

Most British organisations run critical systems on American-owned infrastructure and/or use Enterprise software or tools provided by US companies. US law gives the American government the right to access data held or managed by US-domiciled companies, regardless of where it sits physically. That back door has always existed. What has changed is who holds the key, and what they may now be prepared to do with it.

Digital sovereignty sits on a spectrum, from sensible encryption and procurement policies at one end to full jurisdictional independence at the other. Most organisations are doing nothing and many do not yet realise how exposed they are. This session will show you where you need to be and what it actually takes to get there.

Time: 9:00-10:00am GMT

Robert Baldock, Managing Director of Clustre, is joined by Angela Bishop, Partner and UK CEO and David Elliman, Chief of Software Engineering, who lead Zühlke’s UK business, working with organisations where technology is business critical. They bring strategic and engineering insights, grounded in real-world delivery drawn from Zühlke’s work in regulated industries and government across the UK and Switzerland.

Questions our speakers will address:

• What does it actually mean? How to define digital sovereignty in plain English, across infrastructure, data, computation and AI, and why it belongs on your board’s agenda right now.

• Smart procurement or strategic vulnerability? At what point does cloud reliance stop being efficient and become a risk that a trade dispute, a regulatory shift, or a hostile actor could exploit overnight?

• Is it already too late? Most organisations are already committed to a major hyperscaler. But confidential computing, secure enclaves and bring-your-own-key cryptography can close the back door even inside American-owned cloud. And a credible exit architecture gives you negotiating power at renewal time, not just resilience.

• Three board actions for right now. The concrete steps to take today, before legislation or an external event forces your hand.

Digital sovereignty is not about isolation. It is about agency — the capacity to make independent decisions about your infrastructure, your technology and your data.

Join us for a free, one-hour fireside chat on Wednesday 10th June and leave with a clear picture of where your organisation stands and what it needs to do next.

For more information please email Caitlin on caitlin.taylor@zuhlke.com