Security risks are on the rise, especially as AI usage increases across industries. While 66% of organizations expect to implement AI by the end of 2025, only 37% have processes in place to assess their safety before implementation, and 72% reported an increase in organizational cyber risks. This has created a significant security gap, with organizations under immense pressure to modernize quickly, safely, and securely.
The introduction of AI and its associated risks means compliance requirements are also evolving rapidly. GDPR, the EU AI Act, and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) all protect companies and their customers’ data from cyber threats. But while each is an essential security guardrail, meeting and maintaining these requirements is a different story. In fact, at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting on Cybersecurity in 2024, 76% of CISOs reported that fragmentation across jurisdictions affects their organizations’ ability to maintain compliance.
This creates a dilemma for companies: meeting complex, evolving compliance requirements while simultaneously modernizing operations, without compromising speed or security. However, achieving this balance requires proper execution. By migrating to the cloud with Valiantys, companies can accelerate their transformation safely and securely, minimize disruptions, maximize ROI, and navigate regulatory pressures effectively.
Why Legacy Systems Fail Modern Compliance
Traditionally, companies have thought that on-premise, legacy systems and data centers were more secure and provided greater control over their infrastructure and data. But these systems only create an illusion of control, leaving the door open to cyber threats and security risks, and making it harder to adapt to modern regulatory compliance.
Additionally, the effort required to maintain compliance across fragmented, outdated systems drains internal resources. Every new regulation requires manual updates that slow teams down, increase costs, and often lead to non-compliance. Across organizations, this can look like:
- Lack of accountability: While companies physically control their servers, outdated software and manual processes make it difficult to meet the accountability and integrity requirements of data protection laws such as GDPR. Without centralized visibility and integrated, connected tools, companies can’t confidently meet data protection principles and build trust with their customers.
- Operational fragility: DORA requires EU financial sector organizations to demonstrate they can withstand, respond to, and recover from severe disruptions, such as cyberattacks, and manage third-party risk. A single on-prem data center or legacy system is often inflexible, struggles with basic failover, requires manual and costly updates, and can’t demonstrate the operational resilience DORA requires.
- Compliance debt: Companies are adopting AI at breakneck speed, but often without the necessary security guardrails in place. The EU AI Act enforces strict requirements for governance, data quality, and documentation related to AI usage. Trying to uphold this level of compliance with a legacy environment is a massive drain on resources, leading to compliance debt, security and automation gaps, data silos, and increased costs.
Redefining Digital Sovereignty with Cloud
True digital sovereignty isn’t just about technology. It’s also your ability to have control and make decisions about your company’s data, security, and operations. This is where a modern cloud platform, like Atlassian Cloud, comes in, providing the agility, control, and infrastructure you need to meet regulatory demands and transform operations. This includes:
- Guaranteed data residency: Modern cloud providers offer data residency commitments, guaranteeing where your data is stored and processed to ensure compliance with regional laws.
- Shared responsibility: Cloud environments often follow a shared responsibility model. While a company is ultimately responsible for compliance, providers like Atlassian offer contractual frameworks, compliance attestations, and the transparency companies need to build a secure foundation to meet regulatory requirements.
- Operational resilience: Cloud infrastructure is built to operate uninterrupted by implementing high availability and failover, data recoverability, and redundancy across multiple secure data centers. By maintaining secure, resilient systems, cloud providers make it easier for organizations to meet strict regulations like DORA more reliably than those on-prem.
Migrating to Atlassian Cloud with a trusted partner like Valiantys can ensure your organization modernizes safely and securely. This includes essential capabilities that are built in from day one, like:
- Governance, frameworks, audit trails, and configurable regulatory controls
- Enterprise-grade security, including encryption and role-based access
- AI and automation, including secure, tailored apps
- End-to-end observability and transparency
This leads to more streamlined compliance, lower costs, reduced risk, and increased flexibility and operational efficiency, enabling companies to meet modern regulatory requirements easily.
A Practical Path Forward: Valiantys’ Precision Framework
Shifting away from legacy architecture to the cloud must be executed correctly. Rushed, poorly planned migrations won’t give you the results or control you need to remain competitive. A trusted strategic partner can make this possible, ensuring you gain real value.
Valiantys’ Precision Framework does this by providing a structured approach that turns cloud migration into a true digital transformation through four iterative phases:
- Diagnose: Our team works directly with stakeholders to build a fact-based case for change that drives buy-in. This establishes clear ROI and offers proof points for transitioning to a compliant, modern infrastructure.
- Validate: We show quick wins early through a low-risk migration. This phase establishes organizational readiness and delivers an automation and AI blueprint, driving efficiency while addressing the EU AI Act and other compliance requirements early.
- Execute: After our strategy is validated, our team delivers a controlled, measurable, and seamless migration. With zero unplanned downtime, we help maintain service continuity and boost operational resiliency.
- Optimize: In the last phase, our goal is to sustain gains, evolve platform maturity, and roll out advanced AI and automation capabilities. During this phase, we ensure your organization is adopting AI safely and securely, driving compliance and reducing risk.
By leveraging modern cloud infrastructure and Valiantys’ Precision Framework, companies can accelerate their digital transformation while maintaining control and compliance.
Ready to trade the illusion of control and safely accelerate your journey to digital sovereignty? Contact us today.