Digital sovereignty linked to 5x ROI in enterprise AI adoption

A new study from EnterpriseDB highlights a significant divide between enterprises deriving substantial returns from artificial intelligence and those struggling to make meaningful progress.

The report, titled "Sovereignty Matters: A Global Blueprint for Sovereign, Agentic, and Generative AI," draws on interviews with 2,050 senior executives in 13 countries and incorporates findings from over 15,000 simulations, examining more than 500 variables related to infrastructure and platform strategies. Its core message is that organisations prioritising data and AI sovereignty are performing markedly better than their peers.

Return on investment

According to the research, only 13% of surveyed businesses, labelled as the "Deeply Committed", have achieved up to 5x higher return on investment (ROI) from AI initiatives focused on innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness. In comparison, the remaining 87%, referred to as the "Strivers," "Half-Ins," and "Sideliners", risk being left behind due to common obstacles such as siloed data, fragmented technology infrastructures, and the underuse of AI capabilities.

The report suggests digital sovereignty, defined as full organisational control over data and technology infrastructure, is a key factor separating high performers, and is a stronger predictor of success than sector or geography. The Deeply Committed group is 90% more likely to achieve transformative AI results and deploy double the number of mainstream agentic and generative AI systems compared with other enterprises.

Barriers to adoption

Despite forecasts suggesting AI and data could contribute USD $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, the research found that most businesses are still at the experimental stage, held back by legacy technology and lacking the infrastructure needed for scaling up.

The study notes that while over 95% of enterprises intend to establish their own AI and data platforms by 2028, just a small proportion have overcome the challenges posed by disparate data sources and compliance requirements.

Description of true sovereignty emerged as "the ability to access, govern, and secure all data wherever it resides, free of silos and compliant by design." The Deeply Committed organisations identified in the survey have built architectures enabling secure scalability across hybrid environments, a move which researchers argue is essential for meeting compliance obligations and maintaining control.

Industry response

"The enterprises seeing real returns from agentic and GenAI have something in common, regardless of industry or region: They've made sovereignty over their AI and data a deliberate foundation of their platform strategy, not an afterthought," said Kevin Dallas, CEO of EDB. "These leaders are building architectures designed to scale intelligence securely across hybrid environments. That's what enables them to democratise agentic AI throughout their organisations while meeting enterprise and national requirements for trust, agility, and control."

Industry analysts echoed the findings for organisations hoping to move beyond AI pilots towards measurable outcomes.

"EDB's research offers a guide for how organisations can succeed with agentic and generative AI," said Devin Pratt, Research Director at IDC. "Success hinges on AI and data that is sovereign by design - available anywhere, in any form you need. Early adopters are showing that hybrid environments and technologies like Postgres offer a strong foundation. Organisations that fail to prioritise sovereignty over AI and data as mission critical risk being left behind."

Further segmentation

The report contains several layers of analysis, including segmentation by region, industry, and readiness, as well as a breakdown of personas among surveyed organisations. The research highlights that the Deeply Committed group is not only more confident, reporting 2.5x higher belief in their ability to transition from industry participants to leaders, but also deploys twice as many mainstream agentic and generative AI systems and enjoys enhanced agility by breaking down data silos.

EnterpriseDB's findings underline the importance for businesses to focus on strategies and technologies that enable flexible and secure handling of data. The report asserts that platforms like Postgres and hybrid architectures provide the openness and observability needed to underpin sovereign data and AI efforts.

The newly released study includes resources for organisations to assess their current status and suggests practical next steps, including a forthcoming book intended as a guide to building secure AI platforms using Postgres and applying sovereignty principles.