Cloud Sovereignty Assessment

ByRichard Whyte

Executive Summary

This report assesses Responsiv Cloud against the European Commission’s Cloud Sovereignty framework version 1.2.1 (October 2025), evaluating sovereignty effectiveness across eight categories including strategic control, legal jurisdiction, operational resilience, data sovereignty, supply chain, security, and environmental sustainability.

Responsiv achieved an overall Sovereignty Score of 78.4%, with strongest performance in:

  • Strategic Sovereignty
  • Operational Sovereignty
  • Security and Compliance
  • Environmental Sustainability

Key sovereignty constraints arise primarily from:

  • Non-UK/EU hardware supply chains
  • US software dependencies
  • Limited open licensing
  • Restricted customer audit rights
Sovereign Cloud

Key Takeaways

  • Responsiv Cloud operations are hosted entirely within UK datacentres
  • Operational control remains under UK jurisdiction
  • Customer data is encrypted at rest and in transit
  • UK-based support, SOC, and service engineering teams provide operational sovereignty
  • Responsiv supports GDPR, DORA, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 20000-1 frameworks
  • Environmental sustainability performance includes:
  • 100% renewable energy
  • PUE of 1.14
  • Circular economy infrastructure
  • Supply chain sovereignty is reduced by reliance on US hardware and software providers

Important Statistics

Overall Sovereignty Score:78.4%

Section Breakdown:

Each area contributes to an overall sovereignty score while providing detailed insights into specific assurance levels.

Sovereignty Requirement

Score
  • UK/EU operational authority
  • UK-based value creation
  • UK/EU legal resilience
  • Supplier control analysis customer audit rights

50/50
  • UK legal governance
  • Exposure to extra-territorial laws
  • IP jurisdiction
  • Data transfer controls

40/50
  • Encryption controls
  • Customer-managed access
  • UK-based storage
  • AI regional hosting
  • Compliance monitoring

35/50
  • Exit planning
  • Vendor independence
  • UK support teams
  • Escrow arrangements

50/50
  • Hardware origins
  • Software origins
  • Supplier dependencies
  • Visibility and audit rights

26/40

Technology

14/30
  • ISO certifications
  • GDPR / DORA alignment
  • UK SOC
  • Security breach management

42/50
  • Renewable energy
  • Circular economy
  • Carbon transparency
  • Energy efficiency

40/40

Sustainability Metrics:

  • 100% renewable energy
  • 1.14 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
  • ISO 14001 environmental certification

Full Report:

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FAQ

Responsiv achieved an overall score of 78.4%.

All primary and backup data centres are located in the UK.

Yes, Responsiv adheres to GDPR and relevant DORA obligations.

  • ISO 27001
  • ISO 9001
  • ISO 14001
  • ISO 20000-1
  • US hardware providers
  • US software vendors
  • Limited customer audit rights
  • Restricted open licensing

Yes, both at rest and in transit, with customer-controlled certificate options.