Digital Sovereignty: Hype or Necessity? - GDS Group

Digital Sovereignty: Hype or Necessity?

IT - ROUNDTABLE
26 November 2025 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm GMT

The international landscape is changing rapidly and thoroughly. Geopolitical tension, shifting trade alliances, and rapid advances in AI are reshaping global business priorities. For many organizations, questions of digital sovereignty—who controls your data, where it lives, and how it’s governed—have moved from theory to boardroom priority.

As reliance on hyperscalers and cross-border data flows grows, so do concerns around compliance, resilience, and independence. In fact, according to IDC, more than 80% of organizations say they are either currently using sovereign cloud solutions or plan to use them in 2025. However, definitions and strategies vary widely.

Join thought leaders from Fujitsu and AWS, along with a group of likeminded peers, for this exclusive Meet the Boss Roundtable. We’ll explore what digital sovereignty really means today: the balance between innovation and control, security and scalability, global reach and local accountability. Together, we’ll discuss how to chart a sovereignty journey that protects your business, without slowing its progress.

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Event hosts

Jan van der Torn

Senior Cloud and Digital Consultant
Jan van der Torn has over 25 years of IT experience, progressing from entry-level roles in service desk and find out more

Matt Pitchford

Head of Technology - EMEA Strategic Consulting Partners
Matt Pitchford is currently leading the technology team for EMEA Strategic Consulting Partners at AWS. He has find out more

About Fujitsu & AWS

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology (ICT) company, established in 1935 and headquartered in Kawasaki in Japan. It is one of the world's largest IT services providers, ranking sixth globally by annual revenue and the largest in Japan. Fujitsu operates in over 100 countries, providing a wide range of technology products, solutions, and services. The company focuses on ICT solutions, including cloud computing, data centers, networking, AI, and cybersecurity. Fujitsu invests heavily in research and development to drive innovation, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and digital transformation. Uvance by Fujitsu is a strategic initiative aimed at creating a sustainable world through digital innovation, focusing on areas like health, environment, and trust. Fujitsu aims to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. They strive to contribute to the growth of society and their customers by leveraging their technological expertise.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a leading American cloud computing company, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. and the world’s largest provider of cloud infrastructure and services by market share and revenue. AWS operates globally across multiple regions, offering a comprehensive suite of cloud-based products, including computing power, storage, databases, machine learning, and analytics.

The company plays a pivotal role in enabling digital transformation for organizations of all sizes — from startups to large enterprises and governments. AWS continues to drive innovation through its broad and evolving portfolio of services that support scalability, flexibility, and cost efficiency.

With a strong focus on security, sustainability, and innovation, AWS invests heavily in expanding its infrastructure and developing next- generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and serverless computing. The company’s mission is to empower customers to build, innovate, and transform their businesses through the world’s most comprehensive and widely adopted cloud platform.

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Discussion topics

What is Digital Sovereignty all about—is there real concern or is it just hype?

How do we build digitally resilient and independent cloud solutions?

Can digital sovereignty accelerate a redesign of IT security?

Why Attend

Closed door, tailored conversations to benchmark, share and get better equipped to solve complex transformation projects.

Experience shared learning

Meet industry leading like-minded executives tackling similar initiatives.

Benchmark with your industry peers

Discover and network to gain expertise and experience on how to best act and succeed.

Accelerate your projects

Accelerate in-depth face time with the world’s leading tech companies pushing the boundaries to solve your challenges.

"Very engaging on the right topics and with the right people, I very much look forward to (attending more) in the future"
Alex Boehme, CTO, H&M Group
"Since the session I did have several of the attendees reach out to me. We were able to grow our networks, connect together, share experiences, and I look forward to continuing those dialogs into the future"
Jeffrey Johnson, Vice President, Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Security Officer, Siemens Health Affairs for North America
"A great mixture of good topics, great technology, very engaging and having some leading experts in the field being there"
Dr Brian Letort, Fellow & Chief Enterprise Architect, Northrop Grumman
"It's not a business of selling, it's a business of sharing. And so GDS helps create the environment to share with trust."
David Kidder, CEO & Co-Founder, Bionic
"The roundtables were really valuable sessions."
Mike Welna, Senior Information Security Director, Boys Town
"I made quite a few contacts that will be beneficial to me."
Margaret Bond, Director of Cyber Security, Numotion
"This is not your typical zoom. This is a lot more innovative. The look and feel is far more advanced than what I've seen before. "
Marty Sprinzen, Founder & CEO, Vantiq

Digital event benefits

Solve key challenges and ensure relevant discussions connect with outcomes efficiently and at pace.

Meet

Access to industry leading like-minded executives tackling similar initiatives

Discover

Collaborate and network to gain expertise and experience on how to best act and succeed

Accelerate

In-depth face time with the world’s leading tech companies pushing the boundaries to solve your challenges

Apply to attend

Meet with fellow industry leaders and solve today’s greatest business challenges.

Thank you for your interest. One of the team will be in touch soon.

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