Part two of the EMEA AI Imperative series—featuring insights from the Global Data Insights Survey 2026 (GDIS)

The 2026 Global Data Insights Survey (GDIS 3.0) captures the views of 2,131 IT, networking, security, and business leaders worldwide, including respondents from seven surveyed markets: Germany, UK and Ireland (UKI), France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Africa. The research explores how organizations are approaching AI, data governance, infrastructure, cloud, and sustainability as they move from experimentation to large-scale deployment.

What the markets share

EMEA’s AI story is not a race with one leader. It is a group of mature digital markets moving in the same direction — towards more distributed data, more sovereign control, and more AI in production — but starting from different infrastructure, governance, and business priorities.

Across all seven surveyed markets, 86% of respondents are pursuing or exploring sovereign AI, and 94% say sustainability affects AI strategy. Customer experience is the most consistent strategic outcome, reaching 68% in Africa, 61% in both UKI and the Netherlands, and 59% in Spain. At the same time, infrastructure choices are becoming inseparable from AI strategy. Between 84% and 98% of respondents in each market tie data location to their AI plans, while 77% to 96% plan AI investment increases of at least 10% in 2026.

Regulation is also shaping architecture rather than stopping innovation. Privacy, sovereignty, and compliance are influencing where data sits, how environments connect, and how enterprises scale AI securely across hybrid estates. The common direction is clear: EMEA organizations are moving from AI ambition to infrastructure reality.

Seven market snapshots

Germany: disciplined foundations

Germany combines relatively high AI maturity, with 76% rating themselves at level 4 or 5, with a strong focus on data location and infrastructure integration. But only 65% say they are ready for higher power densities, and 11% report no measurable AI ROI, the highest figure among the seven markets. Germany looks strategically prepared, but still has work to do to translate that preparation into scalable outcomes.
“The findings reflect what we see across the German market: organizations are building AI on a foundation of trust, control, and operational discipline. As AI initiatives mature, success will depend on how effectively businesses connect data location, infrastructure readiness, and governance to real-world outcomes,” says Volker Ludwig, Managing Director Central Europe, Digital Realty.

UKI: the clearest execution leader

The UKI segment records the highest AI maturity at 85%, the highest readiness for higher power densities at 85%, and 94% tying data location to AI strategy. It also has one of the strongest repeatable-or-better ROI profiles at 91%. Its pressure point is privacy, with 56% ranking data privacy regulation among their top three obstacles.
“The findings confirm what we see across the UK and Ireland: organizations in this market are the clearest execution leaders, with the highest AI maturity, the strongest repeatable ROI profile, and the infrastructure readiness to match. The path forward is to pair that execution strength with equally mature data governance,” says Seamus Dunne, Managing Director UK and Ireland, Digital Realty.

France: automation first, infrastructure next

France is among the leaders in using AI to automate human-intensive work, at 26%, even though its maturity profile is less advanced, with 58% rating themselves at level 4 or 5. Only 55% report readiness for higher power densities, and clean data is a bigger issue here than elsewhere, cited by 47% as a top-three obstacle. France’s opportunity is to turn applied-AI momentum into a more scalable foundation.

Spain: ambition meets sharing friction

Spain stands out for customer experience, while 50% cite regulatory compliance as a top driver of AI workload location. But 59% identify customer reluctance to share data as a leading obstacle — the highest result in the group — and just 58% say they are ready for higher power densities. Spain’s AI agenda is advancing, but trust, access, and capacity must keep pace.
“The findings show two markets with real momentum but a shared bottleneck. France is among the leaders in using AI to automate human-intensive work, and Spain stands out for customer experience. The challenge is that both markets lag on infrastructure readiness for higher power densities, and trust in data is holding them back,” says Fabrice Coquio, Managing Director Europe Med, Digital Realty.

Africa: sovereignty-led with talent at the forefront

Africa has the highest share of respondents saying sustainability is the most important factor affecting AI strategy, at 64%, and 90% are pursuing or exploring sovereign AI. Data location is tightly tied to AI plans at 98%, the highest in the group. The counterweight is talent, with 56% naming a lack of internal capability as a top-three data obstacle.
“The findings reveal a market with strong conviction. Africa leads the group on sovereign AI, sustainability priorities, and the link between data location and AI strategy. The challenge is capability,” says Marcel Louw, Managing Director of Africa, Digital Realty.

The Netherlands: optimization without full integration

Dutch respondents lead on process and supply-chain optimization, yet only 76% currently follow a distributed data approach and just 10% report fully integrated hybrid infrastructure. Leadership is another friction point, with 49% citing a lack of clear corporate mandate as a top-three obstacle. The Netherlands has a clear optimization agenda, but alignment and integration remain critical.
“Dutch organizations have a clear vision for how AI can drive efficiency, optimize processes, and create competitive advantage. Success will depend not only on technology investments, but on connecting strategy and execution across the organization,” says Vincent in ’t Veld, Managing Director, Digital Realty Netherlands and Regional Lead, Northern Europe.

Sweden: commercial confidence with strong sovereign intent

Sweden has the highest share saying sovereign AI is a requirement, at 51%, while 50% already deploy real-time AI workloads. Its repeatable-or-better ROI profile reaches 91%, among the strongest in the group, and cloud maturity is high, with 86% rated level 4 or 5. Sweden’s profile suggests a market moving beyond experimentation towards sustained value.

Where the markets differ

The differences between markets are just as important as the shared direction. “AI readiness” is not a single business case. In some markets, it means efficiency and optimization; in others, customer relevance, growth, control over data location, or sovereign capability.
UKI and Sweden have the clearest execution profiles, combining high maturity, strong ROI, and advanced readiness. Germany and the Netherlands show strategic discipline, but face integration and alignment challenges. France and Spain have strong applied-AI ambition, but need trusted data access and infrastructure readiness to support scale. Africa is sovereignty-led and sustainability-focused, but talent remains the central constraint.

For leaders operating across EMEA, the lesson is to avoid treating the region as one homogeneous AI market. The strategic platform can be shared — sovereign, sustainable, distributed, and connected — but the market proof points need to change.

In UKI and Sweden, the message should lead with scale, maturity, and ROI. In Germany and the Netherlands, it should focus on integration, data location, and operational alignment. In France and Spain, it should emphasize trusted data access and infrastructure readiness. In Africa, it should foreground sovereign AI ambition, sustainability, and talent development.

Conclusion

The 2026 GDIS findings show a region converging on the same destination but not travelling on the same road. EMEA’s next advantage will come from connecting shared strengths — regulatory discipline, mature cloud adoption, strong colocation experience, and growing AI investment — with market-specific execution. The organizations that make that connection will be best placed to turn national priorities into repeatable, measurable AI outcomes.

About the survey

The Global Data Insights Survey 2026 is our biennial research study, based on insights from 2,131 IT decision-makers across 19 countries and 11 industries. The 2026 report explores how organizations are moving from AI strategy to execution, with a focus on infrastructure, data governance, sovereignty, and measurable ROI.

Read the full report to explore the data, insights, and recommendations.