Turning Digital Sovereignty-in-the-Cloud from Theory to Action

Project Description

Challenge: Societal Resilience and Strategic Autonomy

Geopolitical tensions are at an all-time high, as highlighted by the Berlin 2024 Security Conference, which warned of escalating threats to NATO on Europe's eastern flank. Ensuring peace through deterrence is not limited to conventional military capabilities; it requires robust defenses against hybrid warfare, including attacks on critical infrastructure, social media, and political stability. Building resilience at all levels of society, especially in the digital realm, is essential, including cloud computing, the “operating system” of modern societies.

While European public sector organizations and their partners have made progress in securing sovereign cloud infrastructures - "Sovereignty of the Cloud" - simply having European-based, legally compliant offerings is no longer enough. Enterprises must operationalize sovereignty in the cloud and maintain true autonomy and security when using complex, multi-cloud environments. This requires translating theoretical constructs into practical frameworks, tools, and policies that enable public administrations to not only choose sovereign infrastructures, but to act sovereignly within them - managing applications, data, devices, and users in ways that enhance resilience, deter potential aggressors, and uphold democratic values.

Making Digital Sovereignty in the Cloud Actionable

As a Fellow of Practice at the TUM Think Tank, Philipp sees a unique opportunity to bring together multidisciplinary expertise to shape a research agenda that makes digital sovereignty in the cloud actionable. By doing so, we can help build societal resilience and strategic autonomy in the face of emerging cyber threats and strengthen Europe's digital backbone as a deterrent and peacekeeper.

Project Goals

Approach

1. From Abstract to Operational: Develop and refine a conceptual framework that moves beyond theory toward implementable “Sovereignty in the Cloud” practices, outlining clear, actionable principles for public institutions.
2. Policy-Tech Integration: Align legal, regulatory, and strategic considerations with technical and organizational capabilities, producing guidance that enables European administrations to maintain security, compliance, and autonomy in multi-cloud environments.
3. Practical Tools and Capacity Building: Deliver a playbook, teaching cases, and workshop formats that empower decision-makers and practitioners to navigate complexity effectively, enhancing deterrence and resilience through concrete measures.

Deliverables

1. Theory-to-Practice Paper: Draft a concise white paper defining sovereignty-in-the-cloud in tangible terms. Anchor the concepts in existing EU regulations, Governmental policy and cloud providers capacity to provide a coherent framework linking policy to technical responsibilities.
2. Proof-of-Concept (PoC): Partner with a sovereign cloud provider and a public-sector body to test the framework.
3. Knowledge Transfer and Community Building: Utilize the Digital Sovereignty Talks platform and host curated roundtables at the TUM Think Tank. Gather input from policymakers, cloud providers, cybersecurity experts, and academic researchers to refine and stress-test the framework.
4. Educational Integration and Tools: Develop a teaching case—building on the style of my “OpenAI Board Drama” case, to illustrate real-world sovereignty-in-the-cloud dilemmas. Produce a playbook offering step-by-step guidance, enabling organizations to implement robust multi-cloud strategies that enhance resilience and serve as a digital deterrent.
5. Sovereignty-in-the-Cloud Playbook: A comprehensive, action-oriented guide that helps European administrations operationalize digital sovereignty within multi-cloud environments.

About Philipp Müller

Philipp is dedicated to advancing the resilient digital transformation of governments, multilateral institutions, and global society. He is Vice President for the Public Sector at DriveLock SE, a Fellow at the TUM Think Tank, and a BKC Circle member at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center. With senior leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Gartner, and DXC, Philipp brings extensive experience at the intersection of technology and policy. He has taught and conducted research at Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, and the Harvard Kennedy School. An accomplished author, he has published books and articles on digital transformation. Philipp holds a PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

The Fellowship of Practice is carried out in a personal capacity.