Who owns your data—and who actually has access to it? Tim Stephan Schulze explains why, despite the cloud, backups, and data protection, companies can lose their ability to operate digitally in an emergency.

Companies rely on cloud services, data backups, and contractually guaranteed data protection. But what happens if the service provider goes down, access is blocked, or critical systems become inaccessible?

„In this context, the risk is simply shifting,“ explains Tim Stephan Schulze, CEO of OIT.One, on the business and energy podcast Nöding & Voges: What a Law. There, he discusses the risks of digital dependence with an IT security expert and a cyberlaw attorney.

Those who outsource their IT may retain legal control over their data, but they relinquish some technical control. A backup alone is of little help if the applications, access rights, or the infrastructure needed for recovery are missing.

For small and medium-sized businesses in particular, this can have existential consequences. It is therefore not only crucial where data is stored, but also whether a company can continue to operate even in the event of outages or conflicts.

Data sovereignty is a legal issue. Data control is a technical one. Digital sovereignty requires both.