Digital resilience and sovereignty survey

Key takeaways

A survey dedicated to digital resilience and autonomy, conducted by Wavestone and MEDEF among more than 500 executives
54% of executives consider digital resilience an important lever for competitiveness, revealing a strategic divide
48% of companies have initiated concrete actions, while 38% have not yet launched any initiative, illustrating strong polarization within the economic landscape
The lack of mature European alternatives is cited as the primary obstacle by 29% of respondents, far ahead of cost or skills issues

In an uncertain geopolitical context marked by strong dependencies on non-European technologies, digital resilience and autonomy are gradually becoming a priority on corporate agendas.

Conducted by MEDEF and Wavestone among more than 500 French executives, this first 2026 edition of the survey on digital resilience and autonomy highlights a genuine awareness, but one that is still very unevenly translated into strategies and operational actions.

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A divided economic landscape facing digital resilience

Companies are fully aware of their dependencies across the entire digital value chain: Cloud, AI, and infrastructure are identified as the most at-risk segments (52%).

However, this awareness remains highly heterogeneous in its operational implementation. The landscape appears strongly polarized, with two nearly equal groups of companies that diverge both in their perception of the issue and in the actions undertaken. Nearly half of companies report having initiated initial actions to strengthen their digital resilience (48%). Conversely, a nearly equivalent share remains more cautious or wait-and-see: 45% of organizations acknowledge dedicating little or no effort to these topics.

Over a three-year horizon, this strategic divide is expected to persist. On the one hand, 54% of executives consider digital resilience an important, or even critical, lever for competitiveness. On the other hand, 46% do not yet view it as a structuring element of their strategy.

48% of companies report having initiated initial actions to strengthen their digital resilience.
45% of organizations acknowledge dedicating little or no effort to these topics.

Governance that varies significantly depending on organizational size

This general trend nevertheless masks clear differences depending on the size of organizations. In mid-sized or smaller companies, digital resilience remains primarily a decision driven directly by the executive, who defines direction and trade-offs.

By contrast, in large groups, leadership more frequently shifts toward technology functions. Operational teams. CISOs, CTOs, and especially CIOs – lead 52% of initiatives, compared with only 30% for executive teams.

Among these stakeholders, CIOs appear to be the most mobilized function (30%). This configuration reflects the gradual structuring of the topic in large organizations, where digital resilience is integrated into technological and operational governance rather than being addressed solely at the executive level.

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Between protection and proactivity: contrasting strategies to address dependencies

Executives’ responses reveal marked divergences in the actions undertaken to strengthen digital resilience. Two groups stand out: on the one hand, companies that explicitly integrate this criterion into their decisions; on the other, those that have not yet addressed the topic (23%) or continue to rely on major historical players (22%).

The dominant strategy consists of limiting dependency risks. Nearly 48% of companies prioritize protective measures, through supplier diversification (19%), enhanced reversibility (17%), or contractual clauses limiting vendor lock-in (12%).
At the same time, a more proactive approach is emerging: 31% of respondents report prioritizing European alternatives or contributing to their development in order to reduce structural dependencies.

Finally, financial commitment reflects this divide. Excluding companies that have not yet addressed the topic, 44% say they are ready to invest significantly to reduce their dependency, while others remain more cautious.

45% f companies remain in a logic of inaction or assumed dependency.
31% of companies adopt a proactive approach by prioritizing European alternatives.

European alternatives still considered insufficiently mature

The survey highlights the difficulty companies face in identifying credible European alternatives. These results confirm a dependency that remains largely structural, particularly with regard to major non-European players, as highlighted in the article “Digital sovereignty awakens: Why businesses must lead the charge“.

This situation fuels concerns about a potential loss of performance associated with these solutions (15%).

In this context, the emergence of competitive alternatives appears as the main lever to strengthen digital resilience (38%): companies clearly call for the rise of European champions capable of competing with dominant players.

The cost of transition, whether technical, organizational, or contractual, also represents one of the main obstacles (24%). In this context, the implementation of financial incentives is identified as a key lever to support these transformations (22%). Facing these challenges, 24% of companies are ready to pool their efforts through collective or sector-based initiatives to reduce their digital dependencies.

Compliance, Risk & Resilience

2026 Wavestone x MEDEF digital resilience and sovereignty survey

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Download the survey (French)

Special thanks to Hugo Kermabon and Dylan Lamant for their contribution to this survey.

Digital resilience and sovereignty survey: when the strategic imperative clashes with operational reality