Emma Dennard, VP Northern Europe at OVHcloud, believes that 2026 will see organisations planning migrations in the wake of security and sovereignty concerns – but also strong growth in the industry from the AI revolution
In 2025, geopolitics entered the boardroom. In 2026, we’ll start to see the real consequences.
In the wake of ‘Liberation Day’ – and the sovereignty debates it accelerated – we’ll start to see companies take concrete action. Migration is complex, so change won’t be instant, but 2026 will bring early signs of movement. AI will continue to fuel data centre growth, and its dependence on cloud infrastructure means sovereignty considerations will increasingly shape where AI workloads run.
However, before we look at the implications for 2026, we need to look at what ‘sovereignty’ really means.
Security and freedom
It’s easier to think about sovereignty in two categories: security and freedom. It’s always been important for technology professionals to have choice over providers from both a hardware and software point of view, to have the right redundant network and power arrangements – and important for businesses to have the freedom to choose where data is and who handles it.
Clearly, this overlaps with security issues: the headquarters of the hosting company affects the laws that apply to the data, which can pose a security risk – and in many cases, some providers use data stored in the cloud for AI training. At the same time, different providers and regions have different approaches to cybersecurity. Ultimately, sovereignty is about freedom, control and security. With that out of the way, what does this mean for 2026?
Migration and planning
The technology industry is an enormously complex system, and any change takes time. Even though discussions around sovereignty issues peaked in April 2025, and have highlighted some incredibly important issues, the topic is still too recent to see any sudden migrations.
But make no mistake: technology professionals are planning. The discussions have prompted a wave of considering and reconsidering strategies for data management and many teams have been mapping data against its needs and sensitivities. Some data can be in a hyperscale cloud, for example, but some shouldn’t be! In 2026, we’ll start to see more migrations, particularly since many investigations have found that some technologists don’t have clear visibility on where their data is in the first place.
Movement considerations
As we all know, migrations can be difficult, intensive processes, but they also have silver linings. In 2026, businesses will realise that moving data can be enormously beneficial from a cost, control and security perspective, and in the longer-term, it makes sense to ensure that data is inherently portable. With the general maturity of systems like Kubernetes, we will continue to see increased adoption of both cloud-native technologies and open-source platforms that make workload portability easier.
However, there are some restrictions to moving data, specifically unfair practices like lock-in, egress fees and technical dependencies like certain applications only working – or working better – on specific cloud platforms. We welcome the work of regulators such as the Competition and Markets Authority to improve competition in the cloud market, reduce unfair barriers, and make workload portability more practical.
Ultimately, IT migrations are long and complex processes, and no two cloud providers have exactly the same setup. But it can be done and it is being done every day. In 2026, we’ll see more organisations using either European players or on-prem systems for sensitive data and a mix of hyperscalers and local providers for non-sensitive data.
What about AI?
Data centre professionals have been significantly affected by AI: in 2025, around half of cloud’s growth was because of AI. We are seeing more data centres – and specifically AI data centres – being built because of this potential, and new GPUaaS providers springing up.
This is creating a stronger, more diverse data centre ecosystem. And while there are concerns about an AI bubble, the tech sector is far more robust than it was during the dotcom era. Growth should continue throughout 2026, although rising component prices will remain a constraint.
Overall, 2026 will be a demanding year for the data centre ecosystem, but a positive one. The continuing and accelerating need for AI and cloud – and more specifically, different clouds – will mean a more varied data centre industry around the world. Sovereignty discussions will result in greater need for more local cloud providers, and AI’s success will drive more data centre growth.
This article is part of our DCR Predicts 2026 series. Check back every day this week for a new prediction, as we count down the final days of January.
