Verified model
At the lower end of the scale, with Basic, the user is still heavily dependent on the respective IT provider. Sovereignty is not yet a defining feature of the service, and the user has little control over the underlying processes or data flows.
In order to refute the suspicion that the sovereignty seal could just be clever marketing, Schwarz Digits entered into a cooperation with the auditing company BDO AG. As an independent authority, BDO has verified the model on which the standard is based. Parwäz Rafiqpoor, CEO of BDO AG, emphasizes that the model offers a “practical basis for strengthening digital sovereignty” and creates a clear, regulatory-relevant basis for decision-making.
The ecosystem behind it
The standard should be more than just a seal of approval. It is the foundation for a growing ecosystem. A special presales tool is used to first determine a company’s sovereignty maturity level, after which STACKIT, Schwarz Digits’ cloud provider, makes tailor-made recommendations.
IT solutions from technology partners that are available via the STACKIT cloud are classified according to the ES³ standard. They then receive so-called sovereignty badges, which, according to CSO Wagner, increases their visibility in the market. At the same time, customers benefit from an ecosystem of partners whose services are tested according to comprehensible sovereignty criteria.
In the long term, Schwarz Digits wants to establish its maturity model as an industry standard for the EU.
