Swiss Authorities Push to Reduce Microsoft Dependence

The Swiss federal administration has stated its goal of gradually reducing its dependence on Microsoft over the long term.

The federal administration has currently completed Microsoft 365 installation on 54,000 workstations, but the transition continues amid data security concerns.

A feasibility study confirmed the possibility of replacement with open-source software, and calls have emerged for faster review of alternative solutions.

The key issues are as follows.

• The federal government and cantons have spent over CHF 1.1 billion on Microsoft licenses over the past 10 years
• Due to the 2018 Cloud Act, data stored by US companies can be subject to requests from US authorities regardless of server location
• It is difficult for users to know which agencies access their data and how that data is used

The article also cites Germany's open-source transition as a reference model. In particular, the state of Schleswig-Holstein has already completed its administrative transition, and Bern has also shown interest in this approach.

Former Chief of the Armed Forces Thomas Süssli urged that the review of alternative solutions proceed more quickly.