The importance of humility: why digital sovereignty calls for a change in mindset

INR: a hands-on do-tank, not a source of dogma

‘We are a do-tank, a collective building more responsible digital technology,’ explains its volunteer president, Richard Bury. It is a space where businesses, local authorities, universities, associations and experts meet to develop digital practices that use fewer resources, are more inclusive and are more resilient.

With more than 150 active members and a charter signed by over 1,000 organisations, the institute acts as a meeting point. It brings together CIOs from major groups, IT service companies, SMEs, local authorities and academic researchers. Their constraints, priorities and levels of maturity differ. But they all share the same reality: technological dependency has become an operational risk.

‘Sovereignty connects with the responsibility issues at the heart of INR,’ its president explains. The institute already incorporates sovereignty into its five strategic areas — particularly resilience — as well as its responsible digital labels, responsible AI charter, training programmes and new low-tech framework, designed to connect resource efficiency, sovereignty and robustness.

What triggered the shift in awareness

For a long time, digital sovereignty was seen as an ideological, even activist, issue. Then a series of events acted as a wake-up call, turning a diffuse concern into a central priority.

The transatlantic ‘kill switch’

European organisations found themselves deprived of email or critical tools overnight because of a decision taken outside their jurisdiction. This was no longer a conference scenario: it was real. For many, it was a shock. A stark demonstration of the fragility of our dependencies.

The Broadcom/VMware shock

The acquisition of VMware and the contractual changes imposed were experienced as commercial blackmail. For many IT departments, this episode marked a watershed.

A staggering economic outflow

Every year, €285 billion in European digital spending flows to the United States. By 2030, that could reach €500 billion. This is no longer solely a sovereignty issue: it is a matter of competitiveness and the depletion of the local ecosystem.

The ‘black boxes’ of cloud and AI

Cloud, AI, software supply chains, proprietary models… The more sophisticated systems become, the more invisible — and therefore dangerous — their dependencies become. Cyber risks, data extraction and an opaque carbon footprint: the loss of control takes many forms.

Responsible digital technology and sovereignty: two parallel paths…

They share the same starting point: having their significance reduced to ideology. Responsible digital technology and digital sovereignty were both long perceived as activist causes.

Responsible digital technology gained acceptance when it demonstrated that it could also cut costs. ‘Everything we have done in responsible digital technology saves money,’ the INR president points out.

Sovereignty is following the same path: organisations understand that dependency is costly — in money, risk and agility. To move forward, INR considers a shared framework essential. Reference frameworks, labels, training and assessment tools… INR is already working to integrate sovereignty into its initiatives.

Education and training also remain the central challenge in both areas. ‘If your developers are trained exclusively on AWS platforms, there is a strong chance they will want to keep working with them over the long term…’ Richard Bury observes.

…but differences require a clear-eyed approach

This is where humility becomes essential. Although the paths are similar, the obstacles differ. Return on investment takes on a different meaning when it comes to digital sovereignty. It is very difficult to measure concrete indicators of reduced dependency, and even harder to prove that they deliver a financial return.

Early experiments, meanwhile, have not always been clear successes, particularly because they affect systems that are inherently critical. Some attempts to migrate to OpenOffice at scale failed, for example, because ‘Excel is the real critical information system for users’. Behind a spreadsheet lay thousands of macros, automations and dependencies… A very substantial investment in change management, with no guarantee of success.

The work of sovereignty: a method, not a slogan

INR’s goal is to provide practical tools to help each organisation progress according to its constraints, risks and ambitions.

Digital sovereignty will not succeed through orders, guilt or speeches. It will succeed when sovereign solutions work at least as well as the alternatives. When they are appealing, effective, integrated and easy to use. When they become a natural choice rather than an activist gesture.

‘Because digital sovereignty is not a slogan. It is work to be done. And we can only do it together,’ the INR president concludes.

The Salon Souveraineté Numérique will provide an opportunity to continue this collective work. To compare viewpoints without confrontation. To explore dependencies without assigning blame. Through thematic tracks, the event will seek to address the full range of issues and bring different perspectives together on topics from geopolitics and public procurement to open source and regulation.