Most (89%) C-suite leaders in Singapore believe a data sovereignty failure could cost them their jobs, according to Everpure’s Global Data Sovereignty Report 2026.
“Sovereignty is not simply about where data sits – it is about knowing who can access it, which jurisdictions apply, and whether critical services could be disrupted. For organisations across Asia Pacific, getting this right is fast becoming a condition of doing business, said Nathan Hall, VP and general manager APJ, Everpure.
Data sovereignty
The survey, based on 2,100 enterprise leaders across eight countries, including 100 based in Singapore, also found that 89% of C-suite executives in Singapore worry about financial and reputational damage to their organisation.
Moreover, 81% of Singaporean enterprises operate without a formal data sovereignty strategy, even though 93% recognise data sovereignty as a business concern. Over half lack full visibility into who can access, control and manage their data. (63%), have no mitigation plans for geopolitical data exfiltration or service disruption (56%), and admit they lack the skills and capacity to deliver sovereignty initiatives (56%).
“The challenge for executives is not just about knowing where their data are hosted. It is about being in total control of all data access and transfers (including all metadata), guaranteed protection against extra-territorial data requests, and managing IT and vendor risks in the light of geopolitical uncertainties,” said Rahiel Nasir, research director and lead analyst, Worldwide Digital Sovereignty, IDC.
Sovereignty by Design
Everpure recommends organisations adopt a sovereignty-by-design framework in which sovereignty controls and governance are applied according to the risk of each data set, application, and workload.
