​To Achieve Digital Sovereignty, First Build A Migration Strategy

Innovation​To Achieve Digital Sovereignty, First Build A Migration StrategyByKevin Korte,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 15, 2026, 10:15am EDTKevin Dominik Korte: IT Innovation Strategist, Board Member. Expert in identity management, AI and open-source solutions. gettyThe drive for digital sovereignty is reaching all continents, often throwing long-standing IT architectures and the dependencies that come with them into doubt or disarray. When organizations such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague are forced to rebuild their IT systems from scratch, most other organizations should take note and consider how to handle their existing infrastructure and legacy systems. Pulling off such a switch requires migration strategies, plans and often operating multiple systems simultaneously. While checking off a list of partial targets might signal short-term success, truly successful projects call for a long-term approach focused on integration, targeted action and a commitment to making broad, lasting change. After 13 years of working with customers on their large-scale IT migrations, I want to share three key insights on how to make digital sovereignty a reality.​A Commitment To ChangeFirst, let’s address a common problem that will often hold up migrations. While most IT projects are driven by the organization's needs or its vision of a better future, few projects are driven by the employees themselves. Consequently, any push for digital sovereignty that affects a large number of employees must be prepared to deal with setbacks and pushback. That’s why support from the top-level leadership is critical for success.Take the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which switched to open-source software in a massive undertaking almost without precedent. Migrating 30,000 government employees, their wor...