Digital sovereignty: Why Switzerland is so heavily dependent on Microsoft
In Switzerland's modern working world, Microsoft software plays a central role. Whether in schools, government offices, or large companies: the programs of the US tech giant are deeply anchored everywhere in daily operations. However, this dependency is increasingly fueling discussions about the country's so-called digital sovereignty.
Digital sovereignty means that a state or an organization should retain full control over its data and IT systems. However, when almost all important documents and communication channels run through the cloud services of a single foreign provider, a risk arises. Critics warn that this makes Switzerland vulnerable to technical problems or political decisions originating from abroad.
In practice, however, switching to alternative systems is very difficult. Most Swiss organizations have been using Microsoft products for many years. Switching to other software would not only cause high costs but would also require extensive retraining of employees. Furthermore, many specialized programs are closely linked to the Microsoft environment, which makes a switch technically complex.
Nevertheless, there are efforts to reduce this dependency. Experts are calling for public institutions to increasingly rely on open-source software. These programs are more transparent and offer greater independence. Whether and how quickly Switzerland can reduce its dependence on large tech corporations remains one of the most important technological questions for the coming years.