Today Civo launches its ‘Tech Sovereignty Agenda: Seven Principles to reframe the UK’s tech strategy’. It calls for the UK government to think again on its tech strategy, putting more focus and investment on UK tech plc. The framework for policymakers and business leaders calls for a new way of thinking about innovation in the UK, building on existing progress, and striking a balance between benefiting from global tech players and protecting and nurturing the UK tech ecosystem.
A call for change
At a time of geopolitical uncertainty, it is more important than ever that nations build resilience into their digital infrastructure. Control over data, where it is stored and the jurisdiction it is subject to, is a defining feature of our time. Sovereignty is not just about the geography of a data centre. It is about control, trust, and who can knock on the door and ask for access. It’s about controlling our digital destiny.
UK businesses are increasingly worried about this issue. Civo’s own research shows that 83% of UK technology leaders are concerned that geopolitical developments threaten control over their data.
The government’s recent Chronic Risks Analysis recognised that dependence on a few global technology companies is a chronic risk in its own right - a problem reinforced by the UK’s Competition Markets Authority finding that “competition is not working.”
Seven Principles for Change
To meet the challenges of this moment, Civo is calling for seven principles to form the fundamentals of UK tech strategy going forward. These are aimed to start a conversation on detailed policy, and support the government’s long-term growth mission for the UK economy.
- Sovereign Procurement - Amend the UK’s procurement regime to allow UK-owned and UK-operated providers to be prioritised for highly sensitive infrastructure workloads e.g. national security, energy, gov departments.
- Resilience First - Set caps or thresholds on single-vendor exposure for critical national infrastructure, with mandatory multi-supplier arrangements.
- Transparent Investment - Demanding transparency and detail from foreign investment pledges, so we know exactly what is being delivered, where, and by whom.
- Partnership of Equals - Guarantee that investment into the UK delivers shared benefits, with value retained at home rather than lost through net outflows of capital.
- Data Protection - Establish clear safeguards for UK data, protecting it - where practicable - from being subject to demands and enquiries from foreign jurisdictions.
- Sovereign Cloud - Make establishing a UK sovereign cloud a national security priority for the UK, built on a mix of best-in-breed technology that gives the UK control over its digital destiny.
- Homegrown Backing - Embed support for UK tech competitiveness as a dedicated part of government policy, matching words with consistent investment & political backing.
Tech for All
Mark Boost, CEO of Civo said: “Our Tech Sovereignty Agenda is a call to action to seize the opportunities of UK tech. We have seen plenty of investment in recent months in the UK - all good news. What we need more of is a recognition that the UK’s tech future cannot be entirely outsourced abroad. It is too important and we have too much to offer at home. We need to bring together the best of global tech with a thriving homegrown sovereign tech ecosystem, protecting our digital infrastructure from overreliance on a few foreign firms, and giving the UK the opportunity to thrive on its own terms in this brave new world.”