Why Switzerland must reduce its dependence on Microsoft

Switzerland should reduce its dependence on Microsoft, an editorial argues, after the Swiss Confederation decided to provide alternatives to the American technology giant. The move could substantially strengthen the country’s digital sovereignty.

The editorial does not portray Microsoft as an especially troubling company. It describes the multinational as one of the more restrained American technology giants, far removed from the controversies surrounding Meta’s handling of personal data on Facebook and Instagram, or the manipulation of users attributed to X, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

But Microsoft’s quiet approach does not make its influence less powerful. The company has built a worldwide office-software empire with remarkable efficiency, and Switzerland has become heavily reliant on its products.

Federal contracts worth hundreds of millions of francs, combined with extensive use by Swiss businesses, have made Switzerland the company’s tenth-largest market worldwide. Microsoft offers effective tools for document management, videoconferencing and artificial intelligence services. The editorial nevertheless presents the creation of alternatives as a way to loosen that dependence and reinforce Switzerland’s control over its digital infrastructure.