Frequently Asked Questions

Digital sovereignty means having control over your data, systems, operations, and future technology choices.

With ArcGIS, organisations can decide how their data is stored, how their systems are operated, and how geospatial capabilities integrate into their broader IT architecture. Digital sovereignty is not about a single technology choice; it is about maintaining control, flexibility, security, and compliance over time. 

ArcGIS is designed around open standards, interoperability, and flexible deployment models.

Organisations can choose the architecture that best meets their operational, security, and regulatory requirements, whether deployed on-premise, in a private cloud, in a sovereign cloud environment, or through a hybrid approach.

This flexibility helps organisations maintain control over their data, governance, and business processes while benefiting from continuous innovation.

The organisation remains the owner and controller of its data.

ArcGIS allows organisations to determine how data is stored, who can access it, how it is processed, and which security policies apply. Data governance remains under the control of the customer and can be aligned with national regulations, industry requirements, and internal policies.

ArcGIS is built on open standards and integrates with existing enterprise systems, databases, cloud platforms, ERP solutions, BIM environments, and business applications.

This interoperability enables organisations to leverage their existing technology investments while avoiding unnecessary complexity and reducing the risk of vendor lock-in.

ArcGIS provides the foundation for organisations to implement secure and compliant geospatial solutions aligned with their regulatory obligations.

The platform supports industry best practices for security, governance, auditing, and risk management, helping organisations address requirements related to data protection, cybersecurity, operational resilience, and public procurement frameworks.

ArcGIS follows the FAIR principles, ensuring that data can be:

• Findable

• Accessible

• Interoperable 

• Reusable

Through metadata management, standardised services, and open interfaces, organisations can share and reuse information across departments, organisations, and ecosystems while maintaining appropriate governance controls.

Artificial Intelligence within ArcGIS is designed to support human decision-making, not replace it.

Organisations retain control over how AI capabilities are used and can choose to integrate their own models and workflows. AI functions are implemented transparently and can be governed according to organisational policies and compliance requirements.

This ensures that innovation can be adopted responsibly while maintaining trust, accountability, and control.

Public authorities, utilities, infrastructure operators, defence organisations, research institutions, and private companies increasingly depend on critical data and digital systems to make decisions.

Digital sovereignty helps organisations maintain control over their information assets, comply with evolving regulations, reduce dependency risks, and build resilient digital ecosystems capable of supporting long-term innovation and growth.

ArcGIS provides the openness, flexibility, and governance capabilities required to support these objectives while enabling organisations to create value from location intelligence.