Webex Advances Digital Sovereignty With New European Partnerships

Webex Advances Digital Sovereignty With New European Partnerships

The News: Cisco Webex has announced a strategic collaboration with Deutsche Telekom and Eviden, an Atos business, to enhance digital sovereignty for European customers. This partnership will introduce sovereign controls, ensuring encryption keys for Webex meetings, messaging, and calling user-generated information hosted and managed by trusted European entities. This initiative aims to provide European businesses from various sectors with enhanced control over their data, ensuring it remains within European borders. The new Sovereign Controls feature is set to be available to European Union (EU) customers by spring 2024. See the detailed announcement from Cisco Webex here.

Webex Advances Digital Sovereignty With New European Partnerships

Analyst Take: Cisco’s recent announcement regarding the integration of sovereign controls in its Webex platform is a significant stride toward addressing the rising concerns around digital sovereignty in Europe. This move not only amplifies Webex’s commitment to data security but also aligns with the increasing demand for data sovereignty in the European market.

Cryptographic Controls: The New Standard?

One of the standout features of this announcement is the emphasis on cryptographic controls. By allowing encryption keys to be hosted and managed by trusted European partners, Webex ensures that the data remains within European borders, adding an extra layer of security. This approach not only ensures data protection but also provides businesses with the flexibility of choosing a cloud provider they trust, without the complexities of hosting their encryption keys.

EU Data Residency: More Than Just a Buzzword

Another pivotal aspect of this announcement is the focus on EU data residency. Webex has already been storing user profiles, content, analytics, and operational data for its EU customers in data centers located in Frankfurt and Amsterdam. By reinforcing its commitment to EU data residency, Webex is positioning itself as a leader in compliance with the stringent data protection norms set by the EU.

The Future of Data Sovereignty

As Europe continues to champion digital sovereignty, collaborations like these will become increasingly significant. Webex’s proactive approach, combined with its commitment to innovation, positions it well to navigate the evolving digital landscape. However, as the European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services (EUCS) is set to be published by the end of 2023, it will be crucial for Webex to stay agile and adapt to any new standards that emerge.

Concluding Thoughts

The partnership between Cisco Webex, Deutsche Telekom, and Eviden is a testament to the shifting priorities in the digital world. As businesses demand greater control over their data, cloud service providers (CSPs) will need to innovate and collaborate to meet these needs. Webex’s latest move is a step in the right direction, but the journey toward complete digital sovereignty is far from over.

Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.

Other Insights from The Futurum Group:

Cisco Q4 and FY 2023: AI, Security, and Cloud Fuel Milestone Results

Webex Expands US Federal Government Contact Center and Calling Offerings

Cisco Introduces New AI Capabilities for Webex

Author Information

Craig Durr

As Practice Lead - Workplace Collaboration, Craig focuses on developing research, publications and insights that clarify how the workforce, the workplace, and the workflows enable group collaboration and communication. He provides research and analysis related to market sizing and forecasts, product and service evaluations, market trends, and end-user and buyer expectations. In addition to following the technology, Craig also studies the human elements of work - organizing his findings into the workforce, the workplace, and the workflows – and charting how these variables influence technologies and business strategies.

Prior to joining Wainhouse, now a part of The Futurum Group, Craig brings twenty years of experience in leadership roles related to P&L management, product development, strategic planning, and business development of security, SaaS, and unified communication offerings. Craig's experience includes positions at Poly, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM.

Craig holds a Master of Business Administration from the Texas McCombs School of Business as well as a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Tulane University.

SHARE:

Latest Insights:

Entry, Mid-Level Models Plus More on Cyber Resiliency
Camberley Bates at The Futurum Group covers NetApp’s announcement on block, cyber resiliency, and BlueXP.
Zoho Unveiled a New Agentic Platform to Deliver AI-enhanced Portfolio-wide Improvements Including Zoho IoT
Futurum’s Ron Westfall explores how Zoho is positioned to develop AI-enhanced solutions that can drive customer value including the optimization and full security of IoT assets that improve business outcomes and overall experience.
Microsoft Adopts a Paid Metered Approach for Autonomous Agents, Highlighting Evolving AI Monetization in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Keith Kirkpatrick, Research Director at The Futurum Group, examines Microsoft’s shift to metered pricing for autonomous agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot and its impact on enterprise AI adoption.
Andi Gutmans, VP & GM of Databases at Google Cloud, and Karan Batta, SVP of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, join Patrick Moorhead to share their insights on leveraging the best of Oracle Database and Google Cloud for organizational growth. This collaboration aims to provide enhanced data management solutions.

Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.