Cloud Sovereignty Is Growing in Importance

Everything at VMware boils down to multicloud, Cooper said. With that in mind, channel partners likely are pitching in more to help customers navigate ever-increasing cloud security and risks, as well as sovereignty.

“Many countries are beginning to look into that, especially in EMEA and Asia Pacific,” Cooper said of cloud sovereignty.

The security issues are nothing new to partners (although many of the threats, of course, are). Sovereignty, meanwhile, is a little less unfamiliar to some. It’s a growing opportunity for both cloud providers and partners. For example, both VMware and Oracle Cloud now offer prominent cloud sovereignty options for regions where extra cloud data protections and boundaries are required. The hyperscalers have some platforms, too, though they have not talked them up as much as their smaller rivals.

Of interest is that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan has emphasized cloud sovereignty as one of the reasons the company is buying VMware.

Next, Cooper shares thoughts on how partners need to think differently about cloud in 2023.