FEATURE
CLOUD SOVEREIGNTY FOR THE AI AGE
As Artificial Intelligence becomes embedded in enterprise operations, the conversation around cloud sovereignty is shifting beyond data residency to questions of control, governance and accountability.
loud sovereignty has become one
C of the most discussed topics within the technology industry, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood. Much of this confusion stems from the assumption that sovereignty is guaranteed simply because data is hosted locally.
In reality, true sovereignty extends far beyond where information is stored, and South African organisations need to move past marketing claims and ask deeper questions about control, accountability and governance.
“ The first principle of sovereignty is that it should be defined in the contract,” said Gert Haasbroek, Senior Cloud Architect at Datacentrix.“ Every provider promises sovereignty, but companies need to understand exactly what sits behind those claims.”
Questions such as who owns the underlying infrastructure, who manages it, where the management plane resides and whether third-party software dependencies introduce external jurisdictional exposure are becoming increasingly important.
Gert Haasbroek, Senior Cloud Architect at Datacentrix www. intelligentcio. com
INTELLIGENT CIO AFRICA
35