# 2.2 Data Sovereignty as a Key Capability

From these two developments

1. data turning into a strategic resource, and
2. companies increasingly collaborating in business ecosystems

results a fundamental conflict of goals as a main characteristic of the digital economy: on the one hand, companies increasingly need to exchange data in business ecosystems; on the other hand, they feel they need to protect their data more than ever before, since the importance of data has grown so much. This conflict of goals is all the more intensified, the more a company is engaged in one or more business ecosystems, and the higher the value contributed by data to the overall success of the collaborative effort.

**Data sovereignty is about finding a balance between the need for protecting one's data and the need for sharing one's data with others. It can be considered a key capability for companies to develop in order to be successful in the data economy.**

To find that balance, it is important to take a close look at the data itself, as not all data requires the same level of protection, and as the value contribution of data varies, depending on what class or category it can be subsumed under.

## Definition of Data Sovereignty

`Data Sovereignty is the ability of a natural or legal person to exclusively and sovereignly decide concerning the usage of data as an economic asset.`


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