Sovereignty in Practice Survey 2026

Welcome to the Sovereignty in Practice Survey 2026 by VSHN and Zühlke!

This survey builds on the DevOps, AI & Platform Engineering Study and adds a practical perspective on digital sovereignty. It focuses on how organisations make - and enforce - decisions about data, workloads, and service providers within regulatory and business constraints.

Completing the survey takes only 5-7 minutes.

Please answer from your organisation’s perspective. If you are unsure about a question, select “Not sure”. You can navigate back and forth using the arrows in the bottom right corner.

For the purpose of this survey, digital sovereignty refers to the ability of an organisation to make and enforce decisions about data, workloads, and providers while complying with its regulatory and business requirements.

The survey is open until March 31, 2026.

Take Again

Context & Demographics

Where is your organisation primarily headquartered?

Select one.

What is your organisation size?

Select one.

1-49 employees 50-249 employees 250-999 employees 1'000-4'999 employees 5'000+ employees Not sure

Which role best describes you?

C-level or executive (CIO, CTO, CDO, etc.) Head of or Director (IT, Platform, Engineering, Security, Architecture) Enterprise or Solution Architect Platform, Cloud, or DevOps lead Engineer or specialist Consultant or advisor Sales or marketing

Other

Core platform context

Which technical or architectural measures are currently in productive use in your organisation?

(multi select - choose 3)

Increased OSS adoption Platform standardisation (shared services, golden paths, reference stacks) Kubernetes or container platforms Hybrid cloud (on-prem + cloud) Multi-cloud (>=2 clouds) Mechanisms to enforce data residency (including key control) Not sure

Other

Have there been major technical or architectural changes in the last 12 months?

(single select)

No changes Minor changes (local / low impact) Moderate changes (some services / noticeable impact) Major changes (multiple domains / significant impact) Transformational changes (platform / core architecture redesign) Not sure

Which statement best describes your current provider strategy?

(single select)

One primary global provider (hyperscaler) Multiple global providers (multi-hyperscaler) Combination of global and local or regional providers Primarily local or regional providers (CH or EU) Primarily on-prem or private cloud Strategy not clearly defined Not sure

Other

Does the use of AI or AI platforms influence your sovereignty considerations?

(single select)

Not at all Slightly Clearly Strongly Not sure

Sovereignty in practice

What does digital sovereignty currently mean most in your organisation?

(multi select - choose 3)

Other

To what extent have geopolitical developments influenced your organisation’s focus on digital sovereignty in the last 12 months?

(single select)

Not at all Slightly Clearly Strongly As a primary driver Not sure

Have sovereignty considerations influenced IT or platform decisions in the last 12 months?

(single select)

No Yes, in individual cases Yes, in multiple areas Yes, as a binding architecture or policy principle Not sure

How far have those decisions been implemented in practice?

(single select)

Mostly conceptual or planned Partially implemented Largely implemented Fully embedded in day-to-day operations Not sure

Have you replaced, avoided, or re-evaluated providers due to sovereignty considerations?

(single select)

No Yes, selectively (specific services or vendors) Yes, significantly (multiple critical services) No replacement yet, but alternatives are being evaluated Not sure

Do you have a clear overview of key dependencies outside your country?

(single select)

Yes, fully mapped and regularly updated Partially mapped Work in progress No Not sure

What currently limits further progress toward sovereignty?

(multi select - choose 3)

Integration complexity Vendor lock-in or long-term contracts User resistance or change fatigue Missing internal skills Limited knowledge of viable alternatives Cost Concerns about innovation or competitiveness No major blockers Not sure

Other

How confident are you that your current platforms meet your organisation’s sovereignty requirements?

(single select)

Very confident Rather confident Rather not confident Not confident at all Not sure

Contact

Would you like to receive a copy of the final report via email and participate in our Prize Draw?

If you select "Yes," you'll be prompted to provide your email address.

You have a chance to win one of two exciting prizes!
To participate, you must read and accept the terms and conditions below:

Terms and conditions: https://www.vshn.ch/en/prize-draw-terms-and-conditions/

Yes No

Please provide your email to receive a copy of the final report

Do you have any final comments, suggestions, or feedback about this year's Sovereignty survey?

We value your input. Let us know if there's anything we missed or could improve. Thank you!