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What is your Plan B? Why digital sovereignty is not a vendor question
Many companies have built up strong digital dependencies in recent years. That was often right and necessary, because cloud platforms enable speed, scaling, global collaboration, and access to innovation. AI solutions open up new productivity and growth potentials. And specialized technology providers take on functions that could hardly be provided internally with the same quality, speed, or cost-efficiency.
So far, so good. But in line with this development, a new, central question arises:
What is our plan B if a critical technology dependency suddenly becomes a business risk?
This question arises where platform decisions have long-term effects, regulatory requirements are increasing, vendor landscapes are consolidating, and AI is becoming more deeply embedded in processes, data, and decision-making logic.
This question is also uncomfortable because it cannot be clearly assigned to a single function. IT, procurement, compliance, finance, data, security, and the business are all affected. But who takes responsibility for the big picture?
What digital sovereignty means
For us, digital sovereignty means understanding critical technological dependencies, building and testing resilient options, and thus remaining capable of action when important framework conditions change.
A robust Plan B is therefore not an emergency solution. Rather, it is the ability to make conscious decisions: What remains? What is controlled more strictly? Where do we need alternatives? And which options are actually viable in an emergency?
Digital sovereignty does not start with the provider
In many discussions, digital sovereignty is initially treated as a provider question: Which cloud provider is the right one? Which European alternative is available? Where is the data located? What certifications exist?
These questions are important and yet fall short.
Why? Because digital sovereignty is not created through a new provider alone, through a different location, or through a new contract model. Rather, it arises from the ability to understand critical dependencies, build realistic options, and be able to use those options at the decisive moment.
In other words: A Plan B is just as little a slide in the risk register as it is a theoretical alternative on paper. A resilient Plan B only becomes evident when it is clear which workloads are critical, what dependencies exist, which options are realistic, and what it takes to actually execute those options.
Read more in our compact Point of View:
„What is your plan B? Digital sovereignty is a capability, not a vendor question.“
Not everything needs to be moved
A common reflex is: if dependency is a risk, then we urgently need to become more independent. Sometimes this is equated with the idea of migrating as much as possible or striving for maximum sovereignty everywhere.
In practice, however, this is neither realistic nor sensible.
Because not every process requires the same degree of control. A marketing analytics use case, for example, has different requirements than core ERP processes, regulatory sensitive data, or mission-critical intellectual property. What matters is not maximum independence everywhere, but the right degree of control where dependency becomes business-critical.
This makes digital sovereignty a question of differentiation. Companies must understand which dependencies are acceptable, which need to be actively managed, and where genuine alternatives are required.
Or in short: Being able to move does not mean having to move everything.
The actual gap is a skills gap
For many companies, the visible symptoms are the first to appear: rising costs, limited bargaining power, vendor lock-in, high migration hurdles, or a lack of transparency regarding technological dependencies.
Behind that, however, often lies a deeper question: Does the company have the capabilities to actively manage these dependencies?
These include, for example:
- Transparency regarding critical workloads, data, and platform dependencies
- a clear understanding of costs, risks and alternatives
- robust exit and move playbooks
- operative models that are not entirely tied to a single vendor
- decision-making ability at the management level
Without these skills, digital sovereignty remains a mere aspiration. It only becomes a strategic option once these capabilities are in place.
Precisely for this reason, the sovereignty gap is a capability gap and not purely a question of technology or vendors.
Voices from the field
„Many companies see the symptoms first: rising costs, lock-in, or a lack of negotiation options. The real question goes deeper: Do we have the capabilities to make critical dependencies transparent and prepare realistic alternatives.“
Markus Peters, Associate Partner
„Digital sovereignty belongs on the management agenda because it simultaneously affects business continuity, regulation, financial planning, and the ability to innovate. A resilient Plan B does not create distance from technology – it creates the ability to make decisions.“
Ralf Granderath, Partner
AI increases the urgency
The „Plan B“ question is becoming even more relevant because of AI. Because AI doesn't just change tools and processes. It increasingly touches knowledge, data, decision-making logic, and the core differentiation of companies.
Anyone who scales AI builds new dependencies in the process: on models, platforms, training data, interfaces, operating models, and terms of use. These steps should be taken based on conscious decisions.
Precisely for this reason, digital sovereignty should not only be put on the agenda once a dependency has already become critical. It is an integral part of the phase in which companies actively shape their digital and AI-based value creation.
From open risk to a reliable management statement
A good first step is an inventory in the form of a compact assessment that turns your “Plan B” question into a reliable management statement:
The focus is on questions such as:
- Where do we stand today?
- Which dependencies are mission-critical?
- What options do we actually have?
- What would be realistic if we had to act?
- And what is missing for a theoretical alternative to become a viable Plan B?
This is precisely where the „Plan B“ check, from AdEx Partners.
The „Plan B“ Check: A compact assessment for digital sovereignty
With the „Plan B“ check, we work together to establish a structured foundation for management decisions. The assessment identifies where critical technology dependencies exist, which courses of action are realistic, and what next steps make sense.
The Plan B Check delivers three results for a fixed price: dependency map, prioritization with management statement, and joint roadmap. Requirement profile and vendor evaluation are deliberately NOT part of the initial assessment (possible subsequent phase; highly coordination-intensive).
The Plan B Check is thus a pragmatic entry point for companies that want to develop digital sovereignty as a concrete capability.
Read more in our compact Point of View:
„What is your plan B? Digital sovereignty is a capability, not a vendor question.“
FAQs
For us, digital sovereignty means understanding critical technological dependencies, building and testing resilient options, and thus remaining capable of action when important framework conditions change.