When’s the worst time to make up an emergency plan? In the middle of an emergency.

Caution, risk mitigation and business continuity are things I’m really looking at right now.

Let’s face it: the world is currently in flux, and the turmoil in international relations, finance and specifically the UK economy has me focused on decoupling my reliance on major systems and ensuring I have resilience, which is my emergency plan.

But isn’t it all a bit Chicken Little, Stu? My one word answer? Covid. It’s not Armageddon I worry about; it’s disruption to supplies. What a newer normal might look like. What we lived through only half a decade ago means I’m taking contingency planning very seriously.

My focus is where our business and customers’ data resides.

A recent op-ed piece in The Register suggests that European companies should move sensitive data and services away from US cloud providers and instead adopt EU-owned and operated infrastructure to protect digital sovereignty and reduce geopolitical risk.

European CIOs are wary of US laws like the CLOUD Act, which can compel data access regardless of where servers are physically located, leaving European data potentially vulnerable to US government demands.

As a result, major European organisations, such as Airbus, are investing in EU-native cloud data solutions, ensuring critical workloads and intellectual property remain under European legal and operational control.

This is a level of pragmatic business continuity in a world of shifting geopolitical landscapes.

It’s why my hosting company offers businesses UK-only hosting, using local renewables too, thus ensuring data and energy security risks are mitigated.

If US news makes you nervous, good. Time to act on your instincts. Get in touch and let’s de-risk your website and customer data: stuartmorrison.com

By Stuart Morrison