Terry Storrar, Managing Director at Leaseweb UK, explains why regaining full jurisdiction over where data lives and who can access it has become mission-critical for building a secure, trusted and self-reliant European digital economy.

The issue of data sovereignty – where data is stored geographically and the corresponding country laws governing it – is increasingly taking centre stage for digital businesses and governments around the world. For data centre providers this presents operational challenges, but it also offers a vital new opportunity to lead the charge in building a digital future that is secure, sovereign, and resilient.

With digital infrastructure underpinning everything from banking to healthcare, the question of who controls data and where it physically resides has become critical. In today’s business landscape, organisations both large and small now rely on cloud-based platforms, but when that infrastructure is operated by global hyperscalers headquartered outside of Europe, it introduces numerous legal and operational uncertainties.

American legislation like the CLOUD Act gives US authorities potential access to data held by US-based providers, regardless of where that data is stored. In a post-GDPR world, this is no longer an acceptable ambiguity. For many European organisations, it raises red flags about privacy, compliance, and digital sovereignty.

The consequences are more than theoretical. Regulatory misalignment and lack of jurisdictional clarity can lead to fines, business disruption, and reputational damage. More importantly, it undermines Europe’s goal of building a secure, self-determined digital economy – an ambition being realised through initiatives such as the European Commission’s Important Projects of Common European Interest on Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI-CIS) programme.

The role of European data centre providers

Against this backdrop, data centre providers in Europe have a pivotal role to play, not just as platform hosts but as custodians of the continent’s digital independence.

By offering infrastructure that is physically located in Europe, governed by European law, and operated with local accountability, providers can give clients the assurance they need. It’s about more than compliance; it’s about trust, transparency, and long-term strategic alignment.

Organisations are no longer content with vague assurances. They want clear jurisdictional boundaries, detailed data residency policies, and complete clarity on how data is handled, accessed, and secured. Providers who meet these needs will find themselves not just relevant, but indispensable.

The expanding scope of data sovereignty

Too often, data sovereignty is pigeonholed as a concern for large enterprises or the IT department. In reality, the impact is much wider than that. From legal, finance and operations to compliance and customer relations – every part of modern organisations depend on trustworthy data handling.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face elevated risk due to their reliance on third-party cloud providers, without fully understanding the jurisdictional implications. They may be unaware that their data is stored outside Europe or governed by laws that conflict with EU standards. This lack of transparency is a vulnerability, but it’s also an opportunity for providers to step in with solutions designed for clarity and control.

Cloud repatriation: a growing trend with strategic implications

One response to this shifting landscape is the rise of ‘cloud repatriation’, which is the process of moving data and workloads from public cloud environments back to on-premises or sovereign private clouds. This trend is not about reversing technological progress; it’s about reclaiming control.

For many organisations, repatriation ensures compliance, improves performance, reduces dependency on non-EU entities, and aligns with long-term strategic goals. In industries with heavy regulatory burdens like finance, healthcare, and government, these considerations are now top of the boardroom agenda.

For data centre providers, this is a timely opportunity. By offering hybrid and private cloud models within sovereign data environments, they can enable clients to achieve the best of both worlds – agility without compromise.

What sovereign-ready really looks like

To truly lead in this space, data centre providers must move beyond baseline requirements. It’s no longer enough to point to ISO/IEC 27001 certification or promise GDPR compliance. Clients are looking for partners who can deliver in-depth advice along with end-to-end assurance, ranging from physical security and encryption to zero-trust architecture and legally binding data localisation.

Moreover, this assurance must be proactive, not reactive. As frameworks like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) come into force, organisations will look to infrastructure partners who are ahead of the curve, offering compliance not as a feature, but as a foundational principle.

Sovereign-readiness means being able to articulate exactly where data lives, who has access, and under which jurisdiction every component of the service operates. It means full operational independence, local governance, and geopolitical stability.

The trajectory is clear, which is why the European Union is making strategic investments in initiatives such as the European Cloud Campus, to help build a cloud ecosystem that is open, competitive, and sovereign. This is not an anti-globalisation stance, it’s a future-proofing initiative, aimed at ensuring European organisations can innovate with confidence.

Data centre providers who align with this vision will find themselves at the forefront of the next phase of European digital growth. They are no longer just infrastructure providers; they are strategic enablers of digital sovereignty.

In a world shaped by fast-moving regulatory change, mounting cyber threats, and rising geopolitical uncertainty, data sovereignty is quickly becoming essential. For Europe’s data centre community, this is an opportunity to operate and communicate in ways that build confidence, not just in the services provided, but in the entire digital ecosystem.

To be successful, providers must support clients in understanding not only where their data resides, but who governs it, how it’s protected, and what that means for their business.

The future of Europe’s digital economy depends on it.