June 19, 2026. A new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value shows that while AI sovereignty has become a business necessity for companies in the EMEA region, most of the organizations surveyed remain locked into AI systems that are difficult to replace. Furthermore, many lack insight into their dependencies regarding vendors, models, and infrastructure.
Categories
Tags
Contact info
Silicon Saxony
Marketing, Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Manfred-von-Ardenne-Ring 20 F
With 83% of CEOs worldwide believing that AI sovereignty is now an essential part of corporate strategy, and as the political landscape in Europe continues to evolve, executives are under increasing pressure to explain exactly how data flows and how systems function; however, many lack the necessary overview to implement this effectively.
Based on new findings from surveys of 370 executives in EMEA and 1,000 worldwide (70 in Germany), the study *The Calculus of AI Sovereignty* shows that only 10% of respondents in EMEA (13% in Germany) have a strong understanding of their company’s dependencies across AI providers, models, and infrastructure.
Furthermore, operational flexibility has become a key factor for resilience in the face of global disruptions. Nevertheless, 73% of respondents in EMEA (65% in Germany) admit that switching their primary AI provider or model would be difficult. Furthermore, 70% of executives in the region (70% in Germany) state that complying with data residency requirements and sovereignty requirements across different geographic regions is challenging, which further complicates the transfer of AI systems or data between different environments.
Underlining the importance of choice, 71% of executives surveyed in EMEA (79% in Germany) state that they would accept a 20% increase in costs to retain existing AI providers, provided this improves strategic flexibility.
The majority of respondents in EMEA (81% / 85% in Germany) state that an outage of a primary AI provider lasting seven days or longer would have serious or critical consequences and would largely bring business operations to a standstill. The organizations surveyed reported an average of seven (six in Germany) AI-related operational disruptions over the past two years, with provider services being the most common cause in EMEA, and technical issues being the most common cause in Germany.
Ana Paula Assis, IBM Senior Vice President and Chair, EMEA and APAC, writes in the study’s foreword: “This report shows that today, only a small fraction of executives truly understand their AI dependencies. The gap between adoption and control widens precisely at the moment AI becomes indispensable. For companies, it is precisely the combination of open-source technology and control that enables selective sovereignty. They gain exactly the right level of authority where it matters most, without having to bear the costs of complete independence across the board.”
Most of the organizations surveyed describe their AI environments as deliberately multi-vendor-oriented (73%). In practice, however, the diversity of vendors appears to be driven less by a targeted strategy than by internal and operational circumstances1:
The study also shows that companies worldwide with the most advanced AI control capabilities experience fewer AI downtimes and protect 55% more operating profit from AI-related disruptions. However, only a minority of the surveyed companies (7%) reach this level—an indication of a growing gap between organizations with adaptable AI systems and those constrained by dependencies.
Furthermore, the study provides a roadmap for executives on how to build flexible, resilient, and sovereign AI systems. The full global study is available at: https://ibm.biz/ai-sovereignty
The IBM Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, conducted a global survey between February and April 2026 to examine how companies structure control over the AI stack and how these decisions relate to resilience, performance, and operational efficiency. The study is based on responses from 1,000 executives responsible for AI, data, technology, or related business functions across 14 countries and 17 industries. Additional analyses identified different AI governance profiles by segmenting organizations based on how they exercise control over data, models, infrastructure, and applications, and how this relates to resilience, performance, and operational efficiency.
The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM’s thought leadership think tank, combines global research and performance data with the expertise of industry experts and leading scholars to deliver insights that help businesses succeed. Find more high-quality thought leadership content at: https://www.ibm.com/ibv. To get more insights, subscribe to the IdeaWatch newsletter: https://ibm.co/ibv-ideawatch.
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI solutions, as well as consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries gain insights from their data, optimize business processes, reduce costs, and secure competitive advantages in their industries. Thousands of government agencies and companies in critical infrastructure sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to drive their digital transformation quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s groundbreaking innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and consulting offer clients open and flexible options. All of this is underpinned by IBM’s longstanding commitment to trust, transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.
1 Unpublished data from the study “The Calculus of AI Sovereignty” by the IBM Institute for Business Value (2026).
– – – – –
Graphic: IBM
You need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Turnstile. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Google Maps. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from OpenStreetMap. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Instagram. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from X. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
