A new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value finds that as enterprises embed AI deeper into core business operations, most surveyed organizations remain locked into AI systems they cannot easily change, reinforcing the growing importance of AI sovereignty to maintain business continuity and performance.
Based on insights from 1,000 senior executives, The Calculus of AI Sovereignty study* reveals that 71% of respondents say switching their primary AI vendor or model would be difficult, highlighting significant operational constraints. Additionally, 68% of surveyed executives say meeting data residency and sovereignty requirements across geographies is challenging, creating complexity in moving AI systems or data across environments. These dynamics point to growing pressure on organizations to strengthen control and oversight as AI adoption and compliance requirements expand.
While the need for control is intensifying, most organizations still lack the visibility required to act on it: 91% of those surveyed say they don’t fully understand their organization’s dependencies across AI vendors, models and infrastructure, limiting the ability to assess risk and plan for disruption. Surveyed leaders report an average of six AI-related disruptions over the past two years, largely driven by vendor services, yet 81% say a seven-day vendor outage would still cause severe or critical disruption, effectively halting operations.
Respondents also cite unexpected changes across the AI ecosystem, including price increases, usage restrictions, model deprecations, and performance degradation. These findings underscore the challenges enterprises face in managing AI dependencies.
Ana Paula Assis, IBM Senior Vice President and Chair, EMEA and APAC, said in the study foreword: “AI has introduced new forms of dependency that evolve faster than traditional governance, procurement, or technology cycles were designed to handle. That is why AI sovereignty has become one of the most defining leadership issues of this moment. The stakes are no longer technical; they are economic. Any loss of control can translate directly into margin pressure, compliance exposure, or outright business disruption.”
According to the study, organizations that design AI systems to adapt data, models and infrastructure as conditions change – a core element of AI sovereignty – are outperforming peers:
- Analysis shows that organizations with the most advanced AI control capabilities see less AI downtime and protect 55% more operating profit from AI-driven disruptions.
- Yet, only a minority of the organizations surveyed (7%) operate at this level, signaling a widening gap between those building adaptable AI systems and those constrained by dependency.
- 72% of surveyed executives say they would accept a 20% cost increase to maintain AI vendors if it improved strategic flexibility.
Most surveyed organizations (73%) describe their AI environments as intentionally multi-‑vendor, yet vendor diversity in practice appears to be driven less by deliberate strategy and more by internal and operational realities1:
- Independent business unit decisions (69%) and geographic necessity (69%) emerge as the leading drivers.
- Legacy complexity is also widely cited by respondents (57%), reflecting mergers, acquisitions, and historical decisions—common across organizations but less often the primary driver.
The study also provides a roadmap for senior executives on how to build flexible, resilient, and sovereign AI systems. To view the full study, visit: https://ibm.biz/ai-sovereignty.
