PRAGUE, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (SUSECON 2026) – New research shows that while almost all enterprises (98%) prioritize digital sovereignty, just over half (52%) are actively taking steps to achieve it – highlighting a growing gap between ambition and execution. SUSE, a global leader in open source solutions for enterprises, today released insights from 309 IT leaders in France, Germany, India, Japan and the US. SUSE’s Navigating Digital Resilience report examines how organizations are redefining digital resilience in the age of AI, where the pressure to innovate is increasing faster than the foundational infrastructure needed to support it.
“Organizations are often forced to choose between accelerating AI and maintaining digital sovereignty, but it’s a false trade-off,” said Margaret Dawson, Chief Marketing Officer of SUSE. “Sovereign AI makes it possible to achieve both, by anchoring control, compliance and innovation in the same foundation.”
The sovereignty paradox: urgency trumps action
While digital sovereignty is widely recognized as essential for AI, many organizations remain early in their journey. The race to adopt AI reveals a clear tension between priority and readiness.
- Gap between ambition and execution: Nearly all respondents (98%) say digital sovereignty is a priority, but only 52% are taking action. By country:
- 62% of respondents in India say digital sovereignty is a real strategic priority in which they are actively investing, followed by 57% in both Germany and Japan, 52% in the US and 39% in France
- Factor in determining suppliers: 45% included sovereignty in recent RFPs and 42% ultimately selected suppliers based on that.
- External pressure as a catalyst: 41% say they will only act on sovereignty when customers or regulations require it, indicating that external pressure remains the main enabler.
AI ensures resilience and risk
AI is emerging as both the catalyst for digital resilience and a source of increased complexity, forcing organizations to rethink control over data, models and infrastructure.
- 64% of IT leaders say AI transparency – control over model training and AI provenance – will be the key driver of digital resilience over the next five years.
- Even with an unexpected 20% budget increase, organizations are overwhelmingly prioritizing AI over sovereignty. This indicates that the pressure to adopt AI is exceeding efforts to address the risks it poses.
Defining digital resilience: control as a common thread
While definitions of digital resilience vary, organizations are converging around a core principle: control. Resilience is no longer just about protection, but about maintaining control in increasingly complex, AI-driven environments.
- Top priorities for achieving resilience are cybersecurity and threat detection (63%) and multi-cloud or hybrid diversification (52%).
- Continuous monitoring (44%) and backup and recovery (45%) are also considered critical components of resilience strategies.
Regional divisions highlight the maturity gap
Acceptance and attitudes towards digital resilience vary by region, with some markets moving faster from strategy to execution.
- In the US, 61% of respondents are optimistic about digital resilience and 41% already have a formal digital sovereignty strategy.
- Meanwhile, more mature regulatory environments such as Germany and Japan exhibit different prioritization patterns, reflecting different stages of adoption.
Hyperscaler Tension: Scale vs. Sovereignty
Enterprises remain heavily dependent on hyperscalers, even as concerns about sovereignty grow.
- 65% of respondents say hyperscalers are relevant for supporting sovereign workloads.
This creates a balancing act between the scale and convenience of global providers and the need for jurisdictional control, driving demand for open, interoperable solutions and regional ecosystems.
SUSE addresses these challenges head-on through its open source infrastructure portfolio – including SUSE Linux, SUSE Rancher Prime and SUSE AI – designed to give companies full control over their data, models and infrastructure without reliance on hyperscalers.
To read the full report, go to: https://suse.com/navigating-digital-resilience-2026.
Methodology
The survey was conducted among 309 IT leaders in five countries (France, Germany, India, Japan and the US), spanning three regions and thirteen industries. Respondents were interviewed independently and were unaware that SUSE sponsored the study.
About SUSE
SUSE is a global leader in open source software for enterprises. By transforming community innovations into secure, sovereign and AI-ready solutions, SUSE enables customers to escape vendor lock-in and regain control of their IT destiny. Through leading Linux, Kubernetes, Edge and AI infrastructure solutions, SUSE provides the flexibility to innovate everywhere: from the data center to multi-cloud and to the edge. Only SUSE also manages many Linux and Kubernetes distributions. At SUSE, Choice happens because we prioritize community, interoperability, and relentless innovation. Learn how we strengthen mission-critical resilience at http://www.suse.com.
Media contact:
Rachel Romoff
rachel.romoff@suse.com
