--- title: What is sovereign cloud? url: https://www.vmware.com/topics/sovereign-cloud description: Learn about sovereign cloud, a type of cloud computing that prioritizes data residency and sovereignty for organizations. --- # What is sovereign cloud? Sovereign cloud is a cloud computing service that provides data protection and access that complies with national and local data privacy laws and also protects against foreign data access. Sovereign cloud deals with data sovereignty, meaning that data is subject to the privacy laws and governance structures in the nation where the data is collected and owned, which may or may not dictate data residency. Data residency ensures that data remains within the country, on sovereign soil. Many countries have data protection and sovereignty laws, requiring the need for sovereign cloud or regulated solutions. Sovereign cloud and data sovereignty are especially important in Europe because of European Union (EU) regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), EU Data Governance Act (DGA), and European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), plus specific regulations from select countries. These regulations also exist in select countries in the Americas as well as countries in the Asia Pacific. This includes data in highly-regulated industries, such as government, healthcare, and financial services, as well as sensitive personal data, intellectual property, critical infrastructure, and consumer information. Key data classifications like these are subject to more stringent regulations than other data types. ## How sovereign cloud works Sovereign cloud works by cloud type, not by a specific architecture. It's a cloud run by a type of service provider that proves compliance via monitoring and assessment of its services, access permissions, and data movement. A typical sovereign cloud works by leveraging private clouds that reside entirely within sovereign borders to store and process sensitive, confidential, or restricted data. Depending on regulations, less sensitive public data may be stored and processed in a public cloud run by a global hyperscale cloud provider to take advantage of best-in-class cloud platforms and technologies. For use cases that require the scale and computing power offered by hyperscalers, but still include sensitive data, data can be encrypted and anonymized before being sent to a public cloud. See below for a diagram on how VMware’s sovereign cloud works: ![vmware sovereign cloud solution overview](https://www.vmware.com/media/blt8c9a8aaca0ffd4ac/bltb56226b122fd1cc7/660d715dbb1a951b45b9533f/vmware-sovereign-cloud-solution-overview.png) In addition to data residency, sovereign clouds use various security measures to protect data, including: - Data encryption - Access controls - Security monitoring and EDR/XDR - Microsegmentation and Zero Trust A sovereign cloud must regularly, on an ongoing basis, demonstrate compliance. ## Sovereign cloud benefits Partnering with a sovereign cloud provider to establish a sovereign cloud offers several benefits, including: - **Jurisdictional data control:** Storage, access, and permission control - **Regulatory compliance:** Ongoing, demonstrable regulatory compliance - **Security:** Workload protection, including security control auditing - **Resilience:** High availability, with minimal disruptions - **Future-proofing:** Adaptability as laws change and mature over time ## Sovereign cloud challenges The requirements of a sovereign cloud can be difficult to implement. These challenges include: - **Compliance:** Managing complex, region-specific data protection laws, ensuring adherence to data localization requirements, and complying with jurisdictional controls to avoid penalties for non-compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), makes compliance a challenge. - **Vendor lock-in:** Dependence on a single cloud provider is another difficulty, especially when migrating or integrating multiple cloud environments, risking long-term vendor relationships, and reducing flexibility. - **Maintaining operations:** Swift recovery and maintaining service availability across different cloud providers and locally operated infrastructures, while balancing operational needs with strict legal and security requirements, is essential but also challenging. - **Multi-Cloud and [Hybrid Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/hybrid-cloud) Management:** Managing diverse cloud environments (public, private, hybrid), along with integrating and coordinating across multiple providers, and maintaining operational continuity during disruptions, only adds complexities for organizations. - **Data Security and Protection:** Implementing robust security measures (encryption, access controls, auditing) to safeguard sensitive data, ensuring that it stays protected under locally defined standards and laws. - **Availability:** Many hyperscale cloud providers are US-based and subject to US laws, which may conflict with other national or local data laws. - **Cost:** Building a sovereign cloud solution within the organization could be costly. Leveraging a sovereign cloud provider that meets regulatory needs is a potential cost-saving option. ## How VMware can help [VMware sovereign cloud](https://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/sovereign-cloud) can empower your organization to stay in control of data with a secure and compliant regional cloud. With our solution, you can keep up with ever-changing data privacy requirements. ## Recommended for You - [Private Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/private-cloud) - [Public Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/public-cloud) - [Hybrid Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/topics/hybrid-cloud) - [Cloud Topic](https://www.vmware.com/topics/cloud) ## Related Solutions and Products - [Sovereign Cloud](https://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/sovereign-cloud) ## Also of Interest - [What is Platform Engineering?](https://www.vmware.com/topics/platform-engineering) - [VMware Sovereign Cloud | Data Sovereignty](https://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/sovereign-cloud) - [VMware Sovereign Cloud | Data Sovereignty | Resources](https://www.vmware.com/solutions/cloud-infrastructure/sovereign-cloud/resources)