Digital Sovereignty: Moving from Vendor Dependence to Strategic Partnerships

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | 10:45AM–11:30AM MT
Session Type: Breakout Session
Delivery Format: Presentation
Digital sovereignty is having a moment on the global stage, but it’s also worth thinking about for our own institutions. Many of us have heard, “No one gets fired for buying IBM,” the age-old wisdom of choosing a market leader. What’s less often discussed is how vendor lock-in can introduce risk as pricing rises, terms change, and trusted partners shift direction. What makes this a unique moment is that those risks now coincide with real alternatives. Open-source software, the longtime dark horse, combined with modern automation tooling and AI, the “king of disruption,” is making it more feasible than ever to build systems that are open and flexible, and to focus on strategic partnerships rather than vendor dependence. In this session, we’ll explore the why, the how, and what participants at every level can do to move the needle.

Presenters

  • Tara Hughes

    Chief Information Officer, California State University, Monterey Bay

  • Matt Hughes

    Senior Technology Strategist & Network Architect, California State University, Office of the Chancellor