Vaudois deputy champions digital sovereignty, blocks Microsoft Teams migration

Vaudois deputy Vincent Keller has secured a significant political win in his long-standing advocacy for digital sovereignty. Keller, a member of the Workers' and Popular Party (POP), successfully thwarted a municipal initiative to migrate the local administration's telephony services to Microsoft Teams, a product of the American tech giant.

Keller, who has championed digital sovereignty since his election to the Renens communal council in 1995, saw his efforts culminate when the Finance Commission unanimously rejected a credit request from the municipality. The request aimed to transfer the communal administration's phone system from a local operator to Microsoft Teams.

"It's symbolic, but I'm not hiding my pleasure," Keller remarked, reflecting on the victory. He argued that the migration would have negative financial consequences, a point that resonated with his colleagues on the Finance Commission. Their unanimous decision to reject the credit request effectively halted the municipal project.

The authorities have since withdrawn their proposal, signaling a triumph for local digital service providers and reinforcing Keller's commitment to safeguarding digital autonomy within the canton. This success marks Keller's first major political achievement on the issue of digital sovereignty.

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It's symbolic, but I'm not hiding my pleasure.