A new global study by the IBM Institute for Business Value finds that as enterprises embed AI deeper into core business operations, most surveyed organisations remain locked into AI systems they cannot easily change, reinforcing the growing importance of AI sovereignty to maintain business continuity and performance.

Based on insights from 1,000 senior executives, The Calculus of AI Sovereignty study reveals that 71 per cent of respondents say switching their primary AI vendor or model would be difficult, highlighting significant operational constraints. Additionally, 68 per cent of surveyed executives say meeting data residency and sovereignty requirements across geographies is challenging, creating complexity in moving AI systems or data across environments. These dynamics point to growing pressure on organisations to strengthen control and oversight as AI adoption and compliance requirements expand.

While the need for control is intensifying, most organisations still lack the visibility required to act on it: 91 per cent of those surveyed say they don't fully understand their organisation's dependencies across AI vendors, models and infrastructure, limiting the ability to assess risk and plan for disruption. Surveyed leaders report an average of six AI-related disruptions over the past two years, largely driven by vendor services, yet 81 per cent say a seven-day vendor outage would still cause severe or critical disruption, effectively halting operations.

Respondents also cite unexpected changes across the AI ecosystem, including price increases, usage restrictions, model deprecations, and performance degradation. These findings underscore the challenges enterprises face in managing AI dependencies.

Ana Paula Assis, IBM Senior Vice President and Chair, EMEA and APAC, said in the study foreword: "AI has introduced new forms of dependency that evolve faster than traditional governance, procurement, or technology cycles were designed to handle. That is why AI sovereignty has become one of the most defining leadership issues of this moment. The stakes are no longer technical; they are economic. Any loss of control can translate directly into margin pressure, compliance exposure, or outright business disruption."

According to the study, organisations that design AI systems to adapt data, models and infrastructure as conditions change – a core element of AI sovereignty – are outperforming peers:

Analysis shows that organisations with the most advanced AI control capabilities see less AI downtime and protect 55 per cent more operating profit from AI-driven disruptions.

Yet, only a minority of the organisations surveyed (7 per cent) operate at this level, signalling a widening gap between those building adaptable AI systems and those constrained by dependency.

72 per cent of surveyed executives say they would accept a 20 per cent cost increase to maintain AI vendors if it improved strategic flexibility.