Why defence organisations need resilience beyond sovereignty

Why defence organisations need resilience beyond sovereignty Why autonomy matters The three pillars of autonomy Open source is the foundation of autonomy Beyond sovereignty to resilience Learn more Red Hat Learning Subscription | Product Trial About the author Giuseppe Magnotta More like this Blog post Blog post Blog post Keep exploring Browse by channel Automation Artificial intelligence Open hybrid cloud Security Edge computing Infrastructure Applications Virtualization Share Amid rising geopolitical tensions, digital sovereignty has become a focal point for governments and enterprises alike. However, for defence organisations, sovereignty alone is not enough. The ability to maintain operational resilience in the face of conflict or severe geopolitical disruption requires the capacity to act independently when cooperation is impossible. Only true autonomy can provide that ability. Digital sovereignty , whether cloud, data, or total sovereignty, refers to control over digital assets, so data, hardware, people, and software remain within a specific jurisdiction. While sovereignty addresses regulatory and jurisdictional concerns, it does not guarantee operational continuity in crisis scenarios. Strategic autonomy, however, goes further. It means maintaining the ability to collaborate with international partners when possible, while retaining the independence to operate alone when necessary. For defence organisations, this is a matter of mission survival. In peacetime, reliance on hyperscale cloud providers and distributed IT infrastructure is manageable. But in conflict, the landscape shifts dramatically. Physical destruction can render data centres inoperable, while internet outages cripple cloud-dependent operations.