In today’s global economy, data is a strategic asset. For many organizations — particularly those in highly regulated industries and the public sector — the ability to innovate with AI is often balanced against the rigorous requirements of data sovereignty, residency, and operational autonomy.

We are proud to announce that Google Cloud has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Sovereign Cloud Platforms, Q2 2026.

As organizations move beyond simple data residency toward full digital sovereignty, this report validates our commitment to providing a sovereignty-by-design approach. "Google is an ideal choice for organizations that need a full range of sovereign cloud options for their deployments," Forrester said in their report.

Meeting customers where they are: A platform of choice

There's no one-size-fits-all approach for achieving digital sovereignty. Our strategy is built on providing a consistent experience, including AI solutions, across three distinct sovereign cloud platforms, so that enterprise and government organizations can innovate and meet their compliance obligations.

Google Cloud Data Boundary, delivered with Assured Workloads, provides a sovereign data and access boundary in the public cloud, including controls over data residency, access, and personnel. It’s designed to give you the agility and scale of global infrastructure while enforcing strict rules about where your data lives and who can access it. By using customer-managed encryption keys, external key manager, and localized access policies, administrative actions remain transparent and restricted. This option is a strong fit for commercial enterprises, regulated industries, and public sector organizations that need to meet regional compliance obligations without the complexity of isolated infrastructure and operational sovereignty.

Google Cloud Dedicated, designed for organizations seeking a higher level of control, provides complete regional data and operational sovereignty delivered by a regional independent operator — and is designed to be survivable up to a year even without Google. This environment is managed by a trusted local partner who oversees  operations. This creates a functional buffer between your organization and Google, helping ensure that your cloud remains compliant with specific local governance. It is specifically targeted at organizations that require a cloud with operational sovereignty, offering the peace of mind that critical infrastructure can continue to function even if the connection with Google is interrupted. For example, in France, S3NS, a standalone entity, offers PREMI3NS built on Google Cloud Dedicated. PREMI3NS has achieved the SecNumCloud 3.2 qualification from the French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), one of the most demanding sovereignty standards in the world.

Google Distributed Cloud, an on-premises solution offered to organizations with strict compliance, latency, and data sovereignty requirements that prevent public cloud adoption. Designed for maximum flexibility, Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) offers both connected and air-gapped configurations to meet your sovereignty requirements. The fully air-gapped deployment option operates without any external connection to the public internet or the Google network. Because it is physically self-contained in your own facility, it is designed to prevent remote access, updates, and shut downs by Google. This solution is the preferred choice for defense, intelligence, and the most security-conscious customers in highly regulated sectors who cannot risk any external exposure.

Sovereign by design

One of the key differentiators that Forrester noted is Google Cloud's roadmap, which calls for delivering sovereignty as a standard feature. Forrester said that Google Cloud's roadmap involves delivering sovereignty as a standard feature, ensuring consistency across all three sovereign cloud offerings.

This consistency is especially prominent in our AI capabilities. Forrester highlighted that our AI offering is a "true differentiator" and that Google Cloud excels "at AI sovereign development services and applications services across all three sovereign environments.” 

Looking ahead

Being named a Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Sovereign Cloud Platforms, 2026 is a milestone in our journey to help every organization achieve digital autonomy. We remain committed to our partnerships with local players and our "sovereignty-by-design" philosophy.

Want to dive deeper into the report? Download the full Forrester Wave™: Sovereign Cloud Platforms, Q2 2026 report here.