Blog | nearby computing

Data sovereignty has become one of the most strategic topics in Europe’s digital agenda. It is no longer only about where data is stored, but about who controls it, under which legal framework, and how it is operated across increasingly distributed digital environments.

As data becomes a core economic and geopolitical asset, Europe faces a defining challenge: how to protect its values, competitiveness and autonomy in a world dominated by global digital platforms.

What Data Sovereignty Really Means

Data sovereignty refers to the principle that data is subject to the laws and governance structures of the country or region where it is generated. In Europe, this concept is closely tied to:

R Protection of fundamental rights and privacy

R Legal certainty and regulatory compliance

R Strategic autonomy in digital infrastructure

Through initiatives such as the GDPR, the Data Governance Act and the Data Act, the European Union has established one of the world’s most advanced regulatory frameworks for data protection and governance.

Why Data Sovereignty Matters More Than Ever

The importance of data sovereignty goes beyond compliance. It has become a business, security and competitiveness issue.

Key drivers behind Europe’s focus on data sovereignty:

R Privacy and trust
Ensuring that European citizens’ and organisations’ data is protected under EU law.

R Economic resilience
Reducing dependency on non-European cloud and digital infrastructure providers.

R Geopolitical stability
Limiting exposure to foreign jurisdictions, extraterritorial laws and geopolitical tensions.

R Innovation at scale
Enabling new digital services without losing control over critical data assets.

The Operational Challenge: Distributed Data Everywhere

Modern digital architectures are no longer centralised. With the rise of:

R Edge computing

R Private 5G networks

R IoT and real-time analytics

R AI workloads close to the source of data

Data is now generated and processed across thousands of distributed locations: factories, retail stores, ports, power grids, hospitals and industrial campuses.

In these environments, data sovereignty is no longer just a legal concept — it becomes an operational challenge.

Why Orchestration Is Essential for Data Sovereignty

This is where orchestration plays a critical role.

An orchestrator such as NearbyOne provides a unified control layer across edge, private cloud and public cloud environments, making data sovereignty enforceable in practice, not just on paper.

How NearbyOne enables data sovereignty:

R Policy-driven workload placement
Define where applications and data are allowed to run — automatically and consistently.

R Control over data locality
Ensure sensitive data remains at the edge or within specific jurisdictions.

R Automation of compliance
Reduce reliance on manual processes and minimise human error.

R Unified visibility and governance
Manage infrastructure, networks and applications from a single control plane.

When an Orchestrator Like NearbyOne Is Especially Relevant

NearbyOne is particularly valuable in scenarios such as:

R Critical infrastructure (energy, transport, utilities)

R Telco and private 5G environments

R Regulated industries (healthcare, finance, public sector)

R Large-scale edge and multi-site deployments

R Cross-border operations with strict data residency requirements

From Regulation to Real Control

Data sovereignty cannot be achieved through regulation alone. It requires technology capable of enforcing control at scale.

By orchestrating distributed environments with platforms like NearbyOne, organisations can maintain sovereignty over their data while still benefiting from cloud, edge and 5G innovation — without sacrificing efficiency, scalability or speed.

In Europe’s digital future, sovereignty will belong to those who can operate complexity, not just regulate it.