UK firms accelerate ‘sovereign AI’ plans amid concerns over dependence on overseas tech
A Red Hat report shows firms are prioritizing sovereign AI over fears that foreign providers could restrict access
More than two-thirds of UK companies have an exit strategy prepared if their primary AI provider restricts access – a concern that's increasingly driving companies to prioritize digital sovereignty.
That's according to a survey of 500 IT decision makers across the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, and Italy by Red Hat, which found plans for digital or AI sovereignty are no longer aspirational but an operational priority.
While 67% of UK companies are prepping for the worst case scenario, the Red Hat study suggested that 43% of those organizations would still face moderate to significant business impact if a primary AI provider restricted service.
“AI platforms are increasingly part of UK organizations’ critical infrastructure," said Joanna Hodgson, Country Manager for the UK at Red Hat. "Many have written exit strategies in preparation for any challenges, but our survey shows that actually executing a switch without disruption remains difficult."
Red Hat noted that 87% of UK companies are already using agentic AI systems – slightly behind France at 91% and Germany at 90% – but while they're using AI, they don't have key business continuity considerations in place yet.
Just 25% reported having strong governance frameworks in place for how they used agentic AI, with 17% saying such governance is "basic or minimal". Beyond that, fewer than half (48%) of UK companies said they had complete visibility of where their data is stored, processed, and potentially accessible, suggesting full AI sovereignty is some way off.
"To close that gap, enterprises need greater control over how and where AI runs, and a consistent way to govern fast‑moving technologies like agentic AI," she added.
The Red Hat survey marks the latest in a string of studies highlighting increased efforts to shore up digital sovereignty across Europe. Research from Gartner, for example, predicted sovereign cloud spend will triple in the next few years.
This increased investment is, at least in part, being driven by geopolitical developments that have sparked concerns about an overreliance on American tech giants.
Last week, the Open Rights Group called for a "strategic shift" in the UK to help boost spending on local tech firms while avoiding vendor lock-in and security or surveillance risks.
Is open source AI the answer?
The Red Hat survey found strong support for government-driven AI sovereignty, in particular focusing on open source principles. Nine-in-ten respondents said that public policy and regulation should "actively mandate" open source principles as a route to achieving AI sovereignty.
"Enterprise open source gives UK businesses the transparency, flexibility and shared innovation they need to treat AI as a resilient, sovereign capability," Hodgson said.
A recent study from Gartner found that roughly one-third of countries will introduce region-specific AI platforms within two years in a bid to shore up data sovereignty efforts.
That process could result in higher costs, however, with nations opting for this route forced to spend at least 1% of GDP to expand AI infrastructure capabilities.
Freedom to choose
The survey results suggest companies are looking for more flexibility in their AI stack and want to keep control, according to Hans Roth, Red Hat’s senior vice president and general manager for EMEA.
"Across EMEA, boardroom conversation has moved beyond experimentation to how AI can be deployed in a way that meets sovereignty, security and regulatory expectations," Roth said.
"The survey results show strong support for open source principles and for clear policy frameworks that embed transparency and auditability into AI."
Roth added that organisations aren’t looking for “another closed, one-size-fits-all stack” and value the flexibility to combine different models and cloud services while retaining strict control.
However, companies need to be wary of "open washing", a common issue in open source AI, where openness can often refer only to specific weights, rather than more widely.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow ITPro on Google News and add us as a preferred source to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, views, and reviews.
You can also follow ITPro on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and BlueSky.
-
Businesses need to boost cyber resilience, here’s howIn depth The government’s recently released Cyber Security Breaches Survey shows gaps in firms’ resilience. How can companies improve their approach?
-
How can resellers use AI to enhance, not risk, their trusted advisor statusIndustry Insights AI is seductive, but data shows people like buying from genuine people
-
The hidden cost of sovereign AI: What control really buys you, and what it breaksWhile sovereign AI could help bolster data protection and privacy, it's could create fresh dependencies, increase costs, and narrow model choice
-
‘A company should be able to use a model without giving up the knowledge that makes it unique’: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says enterprises shouldn’t be sharing so much data with AI providersNews The Microsoft chief warned that corporate data could be at risk thanks to AI models
-
‘What we’re seeing right now is just rapid escalation in AI token spend’: Accenture tells staff to stop using AI for unnecessary tasks amid surging costsNews Accenture has told some staff to roll back the use of AI for basic tasks while the consultancy grapples with surging AI token costs.
-
‘The claims in the suit are false’: Workday hits back amid lawsuit claiming AI recruitment discriminationNews Is AI hiring discriminatory? A California judge has given the go-ahead for a class action suit against Workday
-
IT leaders are being stung by "unexpected" AI costsNews The growing costs associated with AI are hitting organizations large and small
-
'Botsitting' is destroying productivity as workers spend nearly a full day each week making AI 'usable'News While workers are reporting productivity improvements, ‘botsitting’ means these are often negated
-
'Most enterprises are still unprepared to operationalize it': IT leaders are bullish on agents, but keeping falling at the final hurdle – here's whyNews Forrester points to challenges scaling agentic AI, saying companies start rolling out the tech before they're ready to scale
-
‘Chat is dead’: OpenAI plots ChatGPT ‘super app’ overhaul ahead of public listing – with agents and coding tools the new focusNews The company looks set to spruce up ChatGPT with a particular focus on agents to drive subscriptions
