Dialog Enterprise Cloud becomes VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider in South Asia

Dialog Enterprise, the corporate ICT solution arm of Dialog Axiata PLC, announced it has become a VMware Sovereign Cloud Provider in South Asia. The announcement was made at a recent event held at Shangri-La Colombo, which was attended by many ICT professionals from major corporations across various industries that fuel Sri Lanka’s economy. 

A sovereign cloud ensures jurisdictional control, data access, integrity, security, compliance, independence and mobility for customers. It distinguishes itself from hyper-scale cloud providers that host data outside the borders of Sri Lanka by guaranteeing that data remains subject to the laws, controls and authority of the region where it is collected and stored. “We are primed for delivering a national capability for the digital economy that we envision in the country. Our sovereign cloud offering helps secure data, with audited security controls in compliance with data privacy laws here in Sri Lanka, thereby improving control of data by providing both data residency and data sovereignty with full jurisdictional control,” stated Dialog Axiata PLC Group Chief Officer Dialog Enterprise Navin Pieris.

“With the rise of multi-cloud comes the increasing importance of sovereign cloud, especially for businesses in highly regulated industries,” said VMware General Manager and Country Leader Nascent Markets and Vietnam Venkatesh Murali. 

“We look forward to working closely with Dialog Enterprise to deliver critical sovereign capabilities to enable Sri Lankan enterprises to unlock the full benefits and potential of the cloud while ensuring their data is protected, compliant and resident within Sri Lanka.” 

The highlight of the event was a panel discussion that emphasised the importance of sovereign cloud status for local cloud service providers like Dialog Enterprise. The panel featured industry experts, including Sri Lanka Personal Data Protection Act Drafting Committee Chairman and Digital Law Specialist Jayantha Fernando, LankaPay CEO Channa De Silva, Seylan Bank CIO Harsha Wanigatunga and Dialog Axiata PLC General Counsel/Vice President Group Legal and Regulatory Trinesh Fernando. They shed light on how sovereign cloud status enables better control over sensitive data and creates a conducive environment for digitisation across various industries.