Timm Grosser
Senior Analyst Data & Analytics
Timm Grosser is a Senior Analyst Data & Analytics with a focus on data management.
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Data Sovereignty 2026: Reality, Relevance, Roadmap
In 2026, data sovereignty has become a board-level question the moment data and AI move into core processes. Yet in most organizations, a measurable gap remains between strategic ambition and funded execution. This second edition of the BARC Topical Survey shows how drivers and measures have shifted since 2025, where Europe and North America are diverging, and how you can close the gap between strategy, governance and technical architecture.
What this BARC study answers for data & analytics leaders:
- See how the importance, drivers, and funding of data sovereignty have shifted from 2025 to 2026 and where North America and Europe now diverge in execution.
- Benchmark your organization's maturity across the three sovereignty pillars (strategic alignment, governance and technical architecture) against 320 peers and identify where ambition typically outpaces delivery.
- Get six concrete, analyst-backed recommendations to anchor sovereignty as a funded program, manage cloud and dependency risk by design, and turn sovereignty into an enabler of AI-driven innovation rather than a brake.
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Further information
With 62% of organizations citing data and AI in core business processes as a key driver of sovereignty, and technical hurdles surging from 26% to 43% in just one year, leaders need a clear roadmap now to keep their data and AI initiatives both compliant and scalable.
This is the second edition of BARC’s worldwide survey on data sovereignty, conducted in February and March 2026. The study is based on 320 cleansed responses from a globally distributed sample of business, IT, and management decision-makers across all major industries and company sizes.
The report is organized along three dimensions (Reality, Relevance, Roadmap) and analyzes the strategic importance of sovereignty, external and internal drivers, regional differences in funding and maturity, the concrete measures organizations are taking and the human, organizational, and technical hurdles they face.
In cooperation with CloserStill Media:
Author(s)
Dr. Carsten Bange
Founder & CEO
Dr. Carsten Bange is the founder and CEO of BARC.
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Turn Sovereignty into a Strategic Advantage!
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