Sovereign cloud demand booms in APAC amid geopolitical tensions

According to another research by Capgemini, in Australia alone, 64% of organizations are actively investigating a sovereign cloud strategy, compared to 52% globally.

Though there is a notable surge in interest for sovereign cloud adoption by tightly regulated sectors including the public sector, the trend is not limited to them, said Ravikant Sharma, research director for government insights at IDC Asia/Pacific.

“This trend extends to related industries affected by policies centered around sovereignty, like utilities and healthcare,” Sharma said. “These sectors are proactively preparing for potential shifts in regulations and government policies, especially concerning data residency requirements.”

Cloud giants vie for a slice of the sovereign cloud pie

Global spending on sovereign cloud solutions is expected to surpass $250 billion by 2027, according to IDC. The report noted that major cloud providers such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure are actively expanding their offerings to meet the growing APAC sovereign cloud demand.

“Three hyperscalers (namely AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure) consistently adapt their sovereign cloud solutions, adding more features to enhance their appeal to government entities,” IDC said in the eBook.

These providers are customizing their services to meet the specific requirements of the governments in these regions, such as offering dedicated data centers and implementing robust security measures.