Cloud dependency: Almost half of companies have no plan B

Companies in the DACH region increasingly view their dependence on large cloud providers as a strategic risk. According to a recent study by Lünendonk & Hossenfelder, 83 percent of the companies surveyed consider a so-called kill-switch scenario realistic – meaning the possibility that a cloud provider could unilaterally restrict or completely shut off access to critical IT services. At the same time, only 57 percent have an exit strategy for switching providers. Almost half, therefore, have no plan B for an emergency.

For the study on digital sovereignty, the consulting firm surveyed a total of 155 IT department heads, GRC and security managers, IT purchasers, CIOs, and C-level executives between December 2025 and January 2026. The participants were evenly split between upper-middle-market companies and corporations from sectors such as industry, critical infrastructure (KRITIS), banking, and insurance.

Digital sovereignty is already a very high priority for 36 percent of companies today. The outlook is even clearer: 96 percent expect the topic to gain further importance in the next three years – even if the geopolitical situation eases. According to the study, the central drivers are dependence on IT and cloud providers, the demand for resilience in crises, protection against access restrictions, and the prevention of extraterritorial data access.

Sovereign cloud models are gaining importance

When asked about alternatives, 55 percent of respondents consider sovereign cloud offerings with local EU operators in combination with German IT service providers to be highly relevant. German cloud providers, which are developing into so-called superscalers according to Lünendonk, follow with 48 percent. US hyperscalers with sovereign offerings are highly relevant for 36 percent of respondents. Multi-cloud architectures are becoming the standard: 42 percent of companies already have such an architecture, and another 46 percent plan to build one.

European providers hardly competitive

A central weakness remains the competitiveness of European cloud providers. While 93 percent of companies consider European providers to be competitive at the infrastructure level, only 3 percent consider them equal to US hyperscalers for platform, AI, and ecosystem services. For the year 2030, only 2 percent expect functional parity.

Tobias Ganowski, Senior Consultant at Lünendonk & Hossenfelder, urges action: “Digital sovereignty brooks no delay! Companies must now find the courage to actively reduce dependencies, even if it is uncomfortable and costly.” He explicitly states that it is not about self-sufficiency, but about the ability to consciously manage critical dependencies, control risks, and ensure operational capability. Mario Zillmann, Senior Partner at Lünendonk & Hossenfelder, also emphasizes that classic hyperscaler offerings should not be replaced but specifically supplemented with sovereign alternatives: “The future of IT is therefore hybrid and differentiated.”

The study is available for free download on the Lünendonk & Hossenfelder website.

(fo)