Why sovereign cloud is becoming non-negotiable for data-driven enterprises

As India seeks to exercise its data sovereignty with a variety of regulations through the DPDP Act and RBI's residency requirements, a new enterprise IT strategy revolution quietly begins. Instead of relying upon vague, cloud-first models, organizations particularly in regulated sectors such as banking, government, and fintech are choosing sovereign cloud infrastructures that not only provide compliance, but control.

So, in this context Dataquest spoke to Ruchin Kumar, Vice President – South Asia at Futurex, to gain insights into how sovereign cloud is reshaping data security in India, why cryptographic control is structured, and what enterprises need to do in order to balance agility with accountability.

How do you see the rise of sovereign cloud reshaping enterprise data security strategies, especially in regulated industries?

The way we think about enterprise data security is changing, and sovereign cloud has become central to that shift, especially in highly regulated sectors like BFSI and government services in India. With frameworks like the DPDP Act now in place, along with RBI’s clear stance on data residency, we’re seeing a strong move away from generic “cloud-first” approaches to what we can call a “cloud-smart” mindset. Organizations are becoming far more deliberate, opting for infrastructure that guarantees data stays within Indian borders even in terms of processing, control, and oversight.

More than ticking regulatory checkboxes, sovereign cloud deployments help organizations to take meaningful control of their cybersecurity posture with tailored security protocols, comprehensive encryption mechanisms, and centralized key management strategies adapted to India's distinct regulatory and operational context. Even government initiatives like MeghRaj and the RBI's upcoming sovereign cloud platform help catalyze this movement.

What role does Futurex play in helping organisations maintain control over their encryption keys and sensitive data in sovereign cloud environments?

One of the biggest concerns we hear from enterprise leaders today is about how much control they actually have over their sensitive data and encryption keys once they move to the cloud. At Futurex, our role is to take the uncertainty out of that equation. We provide organizations with the infrastructure and assurance they need to retain complete ownership of their cryptographic assets, even in cloud environments. With our HSMs and key management platforms hosted locally in Mumbai and Hyderabad, enterprises can meet data residency requirements without compromising performance or agility.

But more than that, it’s about trust. Our systems are tamper-proof, fully certified, and built to support the kind of governance and auditability regulators demand. Whether you’re in banking, fintech, or even part of the broader digital public infrastructure, the ability to say with confidence that “we control our data, end to end” is increasingly non-negotiable.

That’s the kind of assurance Futurex delivers. In sovereign cloud environments, data control and regulatory alignment go hand in hand, and we become a strategic partner in making compliance sustainable and security uncompromising.

With data localisation mandates gaining momentum, how can enterprises ensure compliance without compromising on performance or scalability?

Data localization is frequently considered a trade-off between compliance and performance, but it need not be. With regulatory initiatives such as the DPDP Act and mandates from RBI/SEBI, Indian enterprises are able to localize their sensitive data and process non-critical data globally. This hybrid approach allows organizations to comply with regulations while not sacrificing their scalability.

Visibility is crucial for success. Automated data classification tools can help identify and isolate sensitive data, limiting your compliance risks as well as your infrastructure costs. Infrastructure resiliency is also important. There are instances where poor air quality in a data center can cause downtime. Technologies such as gas-phase filtration, humidity control, etc., can assist organizations in maintaining performance. In short, adaptable, audit-ready architectures are key to scaling securely in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

How do Futurex’s HSM and key management solutions integrate with sovereign cloud platforms to support privacy-first architectures?

In the context of sovereign cloud, organisations frequently face difficulty maintaining consistent visibility and controls over encrypted data, key lifecycles, and access policies across fragmented systems. The real challenge for organisations at scale is not specifically about the technology; it’s about maintaining trust, compliance, and transparency. Indian organisations need to be able to trust that their approach to their cryptographic infrastructure will not create new black holes or bottlenecks. That is where Futurex’s CryptoHub can step in to help.

At its core, CryptoHub is a centralised governance layer that allows enterprises comprehensive visibility and control of every key, every policy, and every cryptographic operation, regardless of the workload’s physical location. The CryptoHub decentralises the policies while retaining a high degree of consistency across hybrid and sovereign environments, without limiting speed or flexibility. By allowing access to legal, policy-bound, virtualised, HSMs with certified hardware, CryptoHub embeds privacy, auditability, and resilience into the architecture. In sovereign cloud, this is perhaps the differentiator between surface level compliance and long-term trust and scalability.

What are some common pitfalls enterprises should avoid when implementing data protection measures in sovereign cloud deployments?

A common mistake in sovereign cloud deployments is assuming compliance alone is enough. True security requires full, demonstrable control over data encryption, access, and governance. Indian regulations like the DPDP Act and RBI guidelines demand direct control over cryptographic infrastructure—making robust key management essential for resilience in a privacy-first, cloud-native setup.

Another pitfall is overlooking data-in-use protection. Modern threats require advanced techniques like homomorphic encryption, trusted execution environments, and secure computation. As quantum risks loom, organisations must adopt adaptable architectures with tools like quantum-resistant cryptography and tokenization. The goal: cryptographic agility that ensures long-term security, compliance, and scalability.