Data sovereignty has moved from a legal compliance checkbox to a board-level gate on network and security architecture. Governments across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific are asserting durable control over how technology infrastructure operates inside their borders, and enterprises operating across regions now face a growing patchwork of in-country processing requirements, localized management expectations, and accountability rules that no single global configuration satisfies.
That fragmentation collides directly with the architecture most organizations adopted to modernize. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) delivers networking and security from a globally distributed cloud, optimized for performance and reach, but it says little by default about which jurisdiction inspects traffic or where the management plane that controls it lives. Closing that gap means evaluating a SASE deployment across three distinct layers of sovereignty, not residency alone, and choosing an architecture flexible enough to match requirements that keep tightening and diverging by market.
In our latest thought leadership brief, Sovereign SASE: Aligning Security Architecture With Jurisdictional Reality, completed in partnership with Fortinet, Futurum Research examines why data sovereignty has become a board-level input into SASE architecture decisions, breaks down the three layers of sovereignty buyers must evaluate, and shows how Fortinet’s FortiSASE deployment options map to each one.
In this brief, you will learn:
- Why data sovereignty has shifted from a compliance checkbox to a board-level gate on network and security architecture
- The three distinct layers of sovereignty — data, operational, and technological — and why satisfying data residency alone leaves the other two exposed
- The questions rigorous buyers should ask before shortlisting a SASE vendor, including a checklist to test each sovereignty layer
- How Fortinet’s FortiSASE deployment options, from regional controls to a fully self-operated sovereign deployment, map to each sovereignty layer
If you are interested in learning more, be sure to download your copy of Sovereign SASE: Aligning Security Architecture With Jurisdictional Reality today.
Author Information
Fernando Montenegro serves as the Vice President & Practice Lead for Cybersecurity & Resilience at The Futurum Group. In this role, he leads the development and execution of the Cybersecurity research agenda, working closely with the team to drive the practice's growth. His research focuses on addressing critical topics in modern cybersecurity. These include the multifaceted role of AI in cybersecurity, strategies for managing an ever-expanding attack surface, and the evolution of cybersecurity architectures toward more platform-oriented solutions.
Before joining The Futurum Group, Fernando held senior industry analyst roles at Omdia, S&P Global, and 451 Research. His career also includes diverse roles in customer support, security, IT operations, professional services, and sales engineering. He has worked with pioneering Internet Service Providers, established security vendors, and startups across North and South America.
Fernando holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and various industry certifications. Although he is originally from Brazil, he has been based in Toronto, Canada, for many years.
