‘The world's most valuable commodity is no longer oil, but data,’ according to The Economist in 2017.1 he fact that data is the lifeblood of many organisations today is certain, but like oil, data only has value if you can access it and exploit it. The first two parts of this blog series dealt with the importance of data sovereignty and data compliance and security. In this third part, we show some ways your organisation can benefit from improved data access and integrity using a sovereign Cloud.
Without timely access to data, your organisation's efforts to comply with local data sovereignty rules will turn out to be ineffective. Fast and secure access to data as soon as it is needed is an essential aspect of an effective sovereign Cloud. Imagine the effect on the reputation of Rotterdam Runners if they had trouble accessing their customers' order and address details. Such data access problems could lead to serious delays in deliveries or even result in the delivery of a pair of shoes with the wrong size.
Fast and enterprise-grade data access is a combination of reliable data backups, proven disaster recovery protocols, secure networks and robust data centre connections. To meet local data sovereignty requirements, a sovereign Cloud provider must have at least two data centres within the jurisdiction where the data is generated. 99.999% uptime is vital for any sovereign Cloud.2
Limiting unauthorised or unwanted access to data is another important aspect of a sovereign Cloud. Apart from local authorities, a sovereign Cloud gives access only to authorised individuals and organisations. For example, Rotterdam Runners can easily grant their marketing agency access to anonymised customer data from the sovereign Cloud to help develop an advertising campaign. The provider of the sovereign Cloud does not have access to your data unless you explicitly grant access.
Strict data access policies also protect data integrity. The Harvard Business School defines data integrity as ‘the precision, completeness and quality of data as long as it is maintained over extended periods of time and across file formats. ’3 Data integrity is enhanced by robust data security. Maintaining data privacy by protecting it from malicious elements and from natural disasters helps maintain the integrity of your business data.
Authorised access to accurate and complete data is an integral component that can improve performance and processes within your organisation. Because of the sovereign Cloud's strict access management and robust security policies, your organisation can safely analyse confidential data without compromising its privacy.
Detailed analysis of privacy-sensitive datasets can provide new insights as an inspiration for innovations and new revenue streams. For example, if Rotterdam Runners uses a sovereign Cloud to store and analyse anonymised data about their customers' address details, they could gain better insights about the effectiveness of their local marketing spend on digital ads and flyers. Insights about certain products, which are often sold together at the local level, could help Rotterdam Runners better define the target of their digital ads without violating the privacy of their customer data.
By transferring certain data from US public Cloud providers (which accounts for 66% of the European Cloud computing market4) to Fundaments' Dutch sovereign Cloud, your organisation can extract more value from privacy-sensitive data and thus make operational and performance improvements.
This series consists of four blog articles. The last one will appear next week, which will be about data independence and mobility thanks to a sovereign Cloud.
Sources:
1. The Economist, The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data, May 2017
2. AWS Public Sector Blog, Achieving “five nines” in the cloud for justice and public safety, March 2020
3. Harvard Business School Online, What is data integrity and why does it matter?, February 2021
4. Toolbox, EU-US Data Flows Under the Spotlight: Here’s How Organizations Can Prepare, August 2021
