For the most part, “sovereign cloud” is a code word for “not running on US based clouds.” What most people skip is that the geography doesn’t matter. If your stuff runs on a US owned cloud, not matter where it actually runs, the US government can probably compel the cloud provider to get your data.
Sovereignty is not a single property. When people use the word, they are usually mixing together at least five different ideas.
- Ownership is about who holds the asset – the data, the servers, the model.
- Control is about who can operate it, change it or switch it off.
- Jurisdiction is about whose laws apply and whose courts can compel access.
- Capability is about whether you have the skills to build or run it yourself.
- Optionality is about whether you can walk away and use something else without serious damage.
These are relatively independent. Storing your data in a UK datacentre may give you a sense of ownership, but it does not settle the question of jurisdiction. The US Cloud Act, passed in 2018, allows US authorities to seek data held by US-based providers wherever it happens to be located. That is not a theoretical concern.
This is why US-based companies and organizations using cloud never use the phrase “sovereign cloud.” To them, it’s just “the cloud.”
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