Starting THINK 2026, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna said, “Technology is as important to growth and national competitiveness as either finance or defense…so, if technology is as important as that, you need to have a lot more control over it than you’ve historically had.” That framing shaped the discussions throughout Think 2026, reinforcing digital sovereignty as a crucial priority for enterprises and governments alike.

Sovereignty is not just about physical borders or keeping technology within four walls. For IBM, sovereignty is about operational, and demonstrable control. It is defined by who holds authority over technology, systems and data, and whether that authority endures when conditions change.

Here are the three ways IBM shaped the sovereignty agenda at Think.

1. Designing for authority, not assumptions

A recurring theme across keynotes was that sovereignty cannot be declared. It must be built into the architecture. Dinesh Nirmal, SVP of IBM Software, put it simply: “Trust needs proof. Without proof, you cannot do any auditing. Without proof, there is no compliance.” In other words, sovereignty must be active in practice and verifiable, not asserted on paper.

Announced as generally available at THINK, IBM Sovereign Core, is the strongest expression of that principle. Sovereign Core builds authority into the architecture, through a customer‑operated control plane, continuous compliance monitoring and governed AI execution within pre-defined sovereign boundaries. With 160 controls built in, organizations maintain full authority over how their environments run—that is more than data residency, it is runtime accountability and governance.

"Control and compliance have long been barriers to enterprise AI adoption," said Marjorie Janiewicz, Chief Revenue Officer at Mistral AI. "IBM Sovereign Core delivers a ready-to-deploy foundation that allows our models to operate within trusted boundaries from day one.”

2. AI has made sovereignty a business imperative

Sovereignty is becoming inseparable from how organizations design and operate AI. When AI systems enter the core enterprise operations, they must withstand disruption and scale without compromising security or compliance. Organizations need confidence that they can control operations, keep data governed and understand exactly what their AI is doing.

IBM is already helping clients design for a market reality that requires flexibility and resilience side by side. IBM’s approach is to provide clients with the freedom to choose platforms and locations, avoid single-stack reliance and meet operational and regulatory requirements. This approach includes working through dedicated Multizone Region (MZR) data centers with local operations.

Proximity, a UK based SaaS provider, collaborated with IBM and Covenco to implement IBM Power® Virtual Server (IBM PowerVS™) as a flexible, reliable, cloud-based disaster recovery solution. This tool replicates its on-premises IBM i environment in real time.

During planned maintenance, Proximity can temporarily move production workloads to PowerVS and move them back when updates are complete, helping minimize disruption and maintain service continuity.

3. Proof through collaborations

IBM clients and business partners discussed the need for developing shared standards, shared definitions and shared responsibility. Gaetan Willems, VP Cloud and Digital Platforms at Cegeka, made this point sharply. Many enterprises struggle to act because sovereignty is defined inconsistently across the market. What clients need first is clarity. Willems added, “Trust is the new currency,” and enterprises are looking for partners who can help them navigate this space with confidence.

Leaders from IBM’s ecosystem of partners echoed that need for clarity to build trust when discussing Sovereign Core. Bill Pearson, VP of Xeon and AI Software, Intel Data Center Group stressed that establishing — and proving — control over data, models and operations is quickly becoming a differentiator for trust, resilience and innovation in AI adoption.

Philip Guido, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at AMD, put the urgency into context: with enough time and money, a company could attempt to build sovereignty alone, but in the age of AI, “time is really valuable.” Ecosystem partners are essential to get there quickly, securely and cost-effectively.

Building on sovereign ground

Arvind Krishna brought the message home by making one point unmistakable: AI and hybrid cloud are two sides of the same coin and control sits at the center of both.

From software innovations such as Sovereign Core, to deployments like dedicated MZRs, and IBM’s growing ecosystem of business partners committed to sovereignty, THINK 2026 showed exactly how that trust can be engineered and operationalized from the very beginning.

Sovereignty is the differentiator that will define leadership in the years ahead, and IBM is committed to helping clients successfully navigate their sovereignty journeys.

Learn more about how IBM can help you on your digital sovereignty journey.

About IBM 

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

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Jada Morgan
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Kate Gazzillo
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