Data sovereignty has gone from buzzword to business essential—driven by breaches, evolving laws and contract requirements, and the real business benefits of keeping data local.
By Lee Miller, Chief Product Officer, Voyager Internet.
In 2025, data sovereignty is no longer just a buzzword—it’s critical to business resilience, legal compliance, and customer trust. As global data laws evolve and breaches rise, Kiwi businesses are asking:
Where is our data stored—and who really has access to it?
What Is Data Sovereignty — and Why It Matters.
Data sovereignty means your data is governed by the laws of the country where it’s stored. In New Zealand, this has unique significance — especially when it comes to Māori Data Sovereignty, which recognises the rights of Māori to control data that relates to their people, culture, and resources. To honour those rights, true data sovereignty is essential — meaning data must be stored and managed under New Zealand law alone, with no influence from foreign jurisdictions.
Many NZ businesses don’t realise that using global cloud providers—even those with local data centres—doesn’t ensure this. Providers headquartered overseas (like in the U.S.) are still bound by laws such as the US CLOUD Act, which allows authorities to access data regardless of where it’s stored.
This overlap between foreign and domestic laws creates legal grey areas, undermines visibility and control, and can expose businesses to breaches of the Privacy Act 2020 and new Customer and Product Data Act 2025.
Simply put, trusting a global brand — even one with a local presence — doesn’t guarantee data is fully protected under NZ law.
The Shift Towards Local Cloud.
With over half of the world’s cloud providers being US-based, it’s common for NZ data to end up offshore. But that’s changing.
Sectors like healthcare, finance, and Māori organisations are now requiring data sovereignty from suppliers. Businesses are thinking more strategically about cloud strategies, and consumers are more aware than ever of where their data lives. Demand is growing for hosting that’s powerful, reliable, and based in Aotearoa.
Local hosting is becoming a business necessity. If you’re not aligning with this shift, you may soon find it harder to meet client expectations—or qualify for key contracts.
“Whether businesses choose a physical or virtual data centre, the key factor is ensuring that data sovereignty is maintained. That’s why working with a trusted local provider, like Voyager, makes all the difference.”
— Chris Parnell, CEO, SetSeed (Voyager Cloud Customer)
Why Host Locally?
Beyond data sovereignty, local hosting delivers real advantages. With NZ-based cloud providers, you gain faster load times and reduced latency for Kiwi users, stronger security from foreign interference and responsive local support from those who understand the NZ market.
Voyager customers also love our flexible pricing and unlimited bandwidth*— with no charges for inbound or outbound data, unlike global providers with complex billing and hidden charges. Plus, Voyager’s cloud is designed specifically for the needs of NZ wholesalers, developers, agencies, and businesses.
Choosing local also supports New Zealand’s digital economy, by investing in local infrastructure and growing our tech sector, whilst showing your customers that their data privacy matters.
Conclusion.
Hosting locally isn’t about patriotism—it’s smart business. It protects your data under NZ law, builds trust, and unlocks new opportunities, all while delivering speed and control.
At Voyager, we’re more than a provider—we’re your local cloud partner. Our infrastructure is 100% NZ-based, ensuring complete data sovereignty without compromising performance, across Virtual Private Servers, Virtual Data Centre, Colocation, and Dedicated Servers.
Choose Voyager Cloud. Your Data Stays Local.
Explore Voyager’s Cloud Solutions here.
*Fair use policy applies.
