Author: Erwin uit de Bos, Solution Architect at Digital Realty

Ensuring data sovereignty in Belgium

Data sovereignty has become a significant challenge for most businesses. In Belgium, too, more and more organizations are seeking solutions that guarantee the data owner retains full control. Especially now that we are extremely dependent on foreign technology, companies want to avoid their data ending up abroad. A colocation data center is the perfect answer to this question.

The increasing value of data in a business environment is an understatement. Data forms the basis of strategic decisions and is essential for companies with AI ambitions. Data often comes from sources outside the organization, such as public cloud, internet, social media, IoT and edge devices, suppliers, customers, etc. Reliable data traffic between all these sources is therefore crucial. And data sovereignty is also high on the agenda.

More than seven out of ten Belgian IT managers consider data sovereignty a priority in their purchasing decisions. This is evident from independent research by Sapio Research commissioned by HarfangLab among 800 respondents from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Our country considers data sovereignty even more important than the European average (54%). In addition, 60% of Belgian respondents are open to European alternatives for cybersecurity products for fear that they may otherwise be subject to foreign legislation.

Maintaining Control Over Data

What exactly does data sovereignty entail? Organizations want to maintain control over the location of their data, but also over who has access and which laws apply. Especially with sensitive data, local management reduces the risks of unwanted access and data breaches. Awareness is clearly increasing in the Belgian business world. While partly driven by geopolitical unrest, companies are also increasingly faced with legal requirements that dictate they must keep data within national borders.

Although legislation is at the basis of data sovereignty, it also provides benefits to organizations. If data is stored locally, you can respond faster to incidents and are less dependent on external parties. Data traffic also flows more smoothly as the data is closer to the user. And there is even a competitive advantage attached to it. Customers want their data to be handled with care. Belgian companies that guarantee data sovereignty will therefore be more likely to win deals.

Developing a Data Management Strategy

Before you can even think about data sovereignty, you need to know what data is present in the organization, where it is stored, and who has access. Therefore, map out the data and determine a strategy based on this. You can choose a local data center or a hybrid solution. Then implement security measures that meet local standards, from encryption and access management to regular risk analyses. Finally, ensure that employees handle data consciously and set strict requirements for third parties.

Of course, companies must also invest in knowledge, processes, and technology. A practical solution to invest in data sovereignty is to choose a colocation data center and combine it with external expertise. This centralizes the infrastructure while specialized partners provide support in all aspects of data management. Colocation is a good solution in the context of data sovereignty for several reasons:

Local control: you know exactly where your data is located and can be sure that the data center complies with Belgian and European legislation such as GDPR.
Own hardware: just like in your own data center, you can use hardware of your choice. So you don't have to be dependent on a non-European supplier.
Security and redundancy: a colocation data center is secure and ensures high performance, which is very important for sensitive workloads.

Navigating Local Jurisdictions and Compliance

While many companies are considering moving their data back to their own data center due to geopolitical tensions, they can rest assured in most colocation data centers. In practice, every data center is subject to the legislation of the local jurisdiction. This means that foreign governments cannot simply order data from a Belgian data center to be released. This can only happen if a local judge officially grants permission.

For global data center providers like Digital Realty, compliance with home-country legislation may still require responding to government requests. However, customers can be confident that data stored in local facilities remains protected under local law, providing a secure and reliable foundation for operations.

Data Sovereignty and Localization Compliance: Not a Luxury, but a Necessity for Belgian Businesses