Digital sovereignty: dependent and without a strategy

According to this study, 92% of respondents consider the topic of digital sovereignty to be important. However, this is apparently only lip service: only 21% of the companies surveyed have developed a dedicated strategy for their digital sovereignty. Only 25 percent of the companies surveyed have assigned responsibility for the topic to the management board. And only 13 percent have integrated digital sovereignty into their corporate strategy.

46% of companies leave the topic to the IT department, with the vast majority reducing it to the aspects of cloud (72%) and security (91%). Aspects also affected by digital sovereignty, such as law and regulation, training and skills development, as well as purchasing or supply chain management, are often ignored.

Small companies in the lead

Based on a Germany-wide, cross-industry survey by Adesso and the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI) of almost 500 companies with more than 250 employees and public sector organizations, the index determines the current level of maturity in terms of digital sovereignty.

This is made up of an assessment of the six aspects of hardware, software, cyber security, data management, cloud and artificial intelligence. According to the index, the average maturity level of the German economy across all organizational forms and sizes is 65.8%. At 67%, companies score slightly better overall than public administration at 64%. And smaller companies (less than 2,500 employees) with 68.9 percent are again better than large companies (more than 2,500 employees) with 64.2 percent. Complete sovereignty is achieved at a value of 100 percent.

At 65.8 points, the digital sovereignty of the companies and organizations surveyed is already relatively well developed. However, the self-imposed target value of 80 points is still some way off. At 65.8 points, the digital sovereignty of the companies and organizations surveyed is already relatively well developed. However, the self-imposed target value of 80 points is still some way off.

Digital sovereignty index: overall index in points,
0 points = no sovereignty at all,
100 points = complete sovereignty.

Europe's dependence

The index shows that the companies and organizations surveyed are heavily dependent on non-European providers, particularly when it comes to key technologies such as cloud, software and artificial intelligence. More than 60 percent of companies admit that they are dependent on solutions from abroad. And in the field of artificial intelligence
63 percent rated their level of digital sovereignty as only „sufficient“.

So far, a lack of skills, a shortage of skilled workers and high costs are still holding back the expansion of digital sovereignty in many places. However, the seriousness of the situation seems to have been recognized - because the willingness to invest in digital sovereignty in the future is high: 80% of companies would pay a premium for sovereign solutions, on average 17%. For larger companies, this figure is just under 30 percent.

According to companies and organizations, digital sovereignty is very important and should be a matter for the boss, yet only very few pursue a dedicated strategy. digital sovereignty is very important and should be a matter for the boss, yet only very few pursue a dedicated strategy.

„Our Digital Sovereignty Index makes it clear for the first time how much the vast majority of the German economy underestimates the strategic relevance of digital sovereignty,“ says Mark Lohweber, CEO of Adesso: „It helps companies to achieve greater freedom of action, innovation and therefore competitiveness. These important levers for growth and value creation remain largely untapped.“

Balance instead of complete self-sufficiency

The degree of digital independence that makes sense for a company depends on the area of application and the sensitivity of the data. According to the survey, companies and the public sector are therefore not aiming for complete self-sufficiency, but an average degree of sovereignty of 77.8%.

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