Data Sovereignty

Why Data Sovereignty Is No Longer Optional
Most organizations assume their infrastructure is well understood, secure, and compliant. But scratch the surface—and things often look very different.

Many enterprise networks are built on a patchwork of services: a telco here, a cloud there, an interconnection provider in between. Over time, this creates complexity. And with that complexity comes a creeping lack of visibility.

Traffic flows shift. Control blurs. And it’s easy to lose track.

Data Sovereignty Is Now a Business Requirement
For years, “sovereignty” sounded like something for governments or compliance teams to worry about. But with regulations like NIS2 and DORA now arriving, that’s no longer the case. These frameworks demand transparency, accountability, and control—especially when it comes to data and infrastructure.

Whether you're a public body, a financial institution, or a healthcare provider, you’ll soon need to prove where your data goes, who handles it, and whether it’s covered by the right regulatory protections.

Because once sensitive data leaves trusted jurisdiction—whether by accident, poor design, or lack of awareness—you can’t get it back.

Infrastructure Is More Global Than You Think
The challenge is: even if you buy local, your data might not stay local.

• A connectivity provider might route your traffic internationally, simply because it’s cheapest.
• A “European” cloud service might rely on APIs or backbones hosted outside the EU.
• Managed services often include upstream dependencies or support paths no one explicitly discloses or told you about.

This doesn’t mean anyone’s doing anything wrong. But it does mean you’re responsible—even for things you didn’t know were part of the chain.

It’s Time to Ask the Hard Questions
To regain control, organizations need to look deeper into their infrastructure stack:

• Where does our data physically flow?
• Which jurisdictions touch our infrastructure?
• Who owns and operates the switching layers?
• Do our providers offer true transparency—or just SLAs?

Because today, the risk of not knowing is greater than the cost of finding out.

Sovereignty by Design
At NL-ix, we’ve seen firsthand how enterprises are rethinking their infrastructure with trust and control in mind—not just latency or price.  Sovereignty itis about how it's built, who controls it, and whether it can be trusted – and taking responsibility.

You don’t need to own everything. But you do need to know what you’re using, and who’s involved. That’s what regulators expect. That’s what your customers deserve. And increasingly, that’s what responsible infrastructure design should deliver.