Digital Sovereignty Measurable with ES³

Digital globe at night showing glowing borders of Europe against a cyan background glow.

Digital Sovereignty: Freedom of Choice and Data Sovereignty

Those who enjoy digital sovereignty maintain control over their own digital infrastructure and associated processes — making decisions about where data is stored, who has access and how information is processed. Freedom to choose a different solution is guaranteed if a provider imposes unfair conditions or there is a change to the geopolitical situation. An invaluable competitive advantage.

Digital sovereignty is the prerequisite for choosing freely and consistently retaining the capacity to act. And this is the foundation that our solutions provide: Tried and tested for the largest retail group in Europe — tailored to the needs of companies, administrations and organizations.

We Anchor This Claim in Three Dimensions:

Technological Sovereignty

Securing freedom of action through open interfaces and full flexibility without creating new dependencies.

Operational Sovereignty

Guaranteeing reliability and independence, ensuring that the capacity to act is retained even during crises.

Legal Sovereignty

Creating defined protected spaces on the basis of European governance — for seamless data sovereignty and control.

Making Digital Sovereignty Tangible

The concept of digital sovereignty is broad, and the term is often the subject of much discussion. That is why it is all the more important to translate theory into practical application. Standardized, auditable criteria create transparency in a dynamic market environment.

With the European Sovereign Stack Standard (ES³), Schwarz Digits has created a benchmark that makes digital sovereignty objectively measurable across its various dimensions. To ensure auditability, the underlying SML framework has been developed in collaboration with BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft. The four-level maturity model provides organizations and public authorities with a reliable factual basis, delivering a clear structure for systematically assessing the sovereignty of their IT infrastructure and improving this with targeted measures.

ES³ — The Compass for Digital Sovereignty

Digital independence demands objective criteria. Schwarz Digits applies the European Sovereign Stack Standard (ES³) to create a reliable factual basis for the market. The underlying maturity model enables companies and the public sector to precisely assess the sovereignty of their IT infrastructure, reveal where action is required and implement targeted optimizations.

Graphic featuring two turquoise chess pieces on a grid in stipple style.

The Issue: Digital Dependencies and Sovereignty Washing

Companies often have no overview of how their own IT services are stranded in profound digital dependencies. According to Bitkom (2025), 90% of importers regard themselves as dependent on foreign tech providers — with 56% reporting a high level of dependency. Vague marketing promises (“sovereignty washing”) and more stringent regulations represent impediments to a sovereign digitalization strategy.

Graphic of a 3D shield in turquoise and white with stipple effect.

The Solution: The European Sovereign Stack Standard (ES³)

The ES³ program delivers a reliable standard on the basis of verified auditability, legal security, strict compliance with EU requirements and clear AI focus.

Independent Auditability According to ISAE 3000

BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft checks ISVs against the SML framework (Sovereignty Maturity Level) according to ISAE 3000. The SML framework translates digital sovereignty into specific, auditable criteria. This provides the basis for independent auditing of ISVs and their services by BDO Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft according to ISAE 3000.

Benefits for You

Protection against lock-in effects and loss of control

Strict separation of control levels protects against dictated prices, susceptibility to blackmail and the unanticipated failure of international platforms.

Resilient basis for decisions

Objective metrics replace non-verifiable marketing statements with mathematically and legally proven facts.

Compliance verified by BDO

Auditing in accordance with the ISAE 3000 standard guarantees legal certainty for strictly regulated industries, the public sector and critical infrastructure companies (KRITIS).

Unrestricted data sovereignty

The use of trustworthy open-source standards and client-side encryption guarantees autonomy across all business processes.

European Sovereign Stack Standard: Functionality

Foundation: The ES³ SML Framework builds upon the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework, elevates artificial intelligence into an autonomous dimension of sovereignty and has been independently verified by BDO Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft AG.
Sovereign separation: The program analyzes contractual, organizational and technical controls. Closure of identified gaps consistently precludes unauthorized extraterritorial access to data.
Guarantee of data residency: All processing and data storage actions take place exclusively in European data centers, ensuring that data never leaves the European legal jurisdiction.

Who Should Use ES³?

Software providers and ISVs

Auditing software products in accordance with SML framework to acquire sovereignty badge.

Companies, public sector and critical infrastructure operators

Auditing and evvaluating digital sovereignty in your IT infrastructure via ES³ Lens.