Global spending on sovereign cloud infrastructure-as-a-service is set to surge to $80 billion in 2026, marking a 35.6% jump from the previous year, according to Gartner.
The acceleration reflects mounting geopolitical tensions and a growing determination among nations to control data, protect regulatory interests, and capture more economic value within their borders.
Analysts say organisations outside the United States and China are leading the charge, seeking technological independence and reduced exposure to foreign jurisdictions.
Governments will remain the dominant buyers, while highly regulated sectors such as telecom, energy and utilities are rapidly increasing adoption.
Regionally, the Middle East and Africa, mature Asia-Pacific markets, and Europe are forecast to post the fastest gains next year.
Yet in absolute terms, China and North America will still account for the largest shares of expenditure, albeit with more moderate growth.
A major catalyst behind the surge is what Gartner calls “geo-patri-ation” — the relocation of workloads to align with national priorities.
Roughly one-fifth of existing deployments are expected to move from global hyperscalers to domestic providers, while most new spending will stem from fresh digital projects or systems yet to migrate.
For multi-national cloud giants, the message is clear: sovereignty is becoming a competitive requirement and not merely a compliance box.
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