"Absolutely necessary" The federal government cannot throw off the golden Microsoft shackles
The federal administration continues to pay large sums of money to Microsoft - despite the availability of secure and inexpensive open source alternatives. The dependence on the US tech giant raises questions.
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- At the end of 2024, the Swiss Federal Administration will pay over 140 million Swiss francs to Microsoft for two more years of access to MS Office 365.
- Experts warn that Microsoft and ultimately the US government could gain access to sensitive data.
- The administration is sticking with the Microsoft standard as a change would be technically and financially costly.
It's like a bad contract: once you've signed it, you can hardly get out of it. This is what the Swiss Federal Administration is doing with Microsoft. By the end of next year, it will have paid more than 140 million francs for licenses - without a public tender. The deal: two more years of Office 365 from the US giant.
Why no competition? The answer is sobering: according to the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FOBL) in its official decision to award the contract, it is "absolutely necessary" to continue using Microsoft products.
Data sovereignty lies in the USA
The federal government could have switched to open source alternatives long ago - more secure, more cost-effective and more flexible. But this is not happening. Instead, digital dependency continues to grow.
This is precisely where the criticism of Microsoft dependency comes in. Matthias Stürmer, professor of administrative digitization and president of the organization CH Open, warns SRF of the financial consequences: "The dependence on Microsoft means that the company has a strong negotiating position when it comes to prices." The Federal Chancellery also confirms that this dependency leads to increased costs.
But it's not just about the costs. Data protection experts also see considerable risks when it comes to data security. The use of cloud services such as Microsoft Azure could lead to sensitive administrative data being stored on servers in the USA. Matthias Stürmer explains: "In fact, Microsoft and ultimately the US government always have access to this data." This problem could be avoided with open source solutions, as the software can be operated on your own servers.
Everyone pays the bill in the end
The Federal Chancellery explains on request: "Microsoft is in fact a global standard." Around 80 percent of companies and authorities use the US giant's products. The problem: switching would be expensive and risky. The federal government's IT architecture has been based on Microsoft products for years. Many interfaces and applications are dependent on them. A changeover would be a logistical tour de force with costs in the billions.
But Stürmer also sees a psychological factor: "Nobody has been fired for buying Microsoft." Those who rely on established solutions remain on the safe side. A failed attempt with alternative systems, on the other hand, could quickly jeopardize a career.
The ones who suffer are the taxpayers. They have to pay the high license fees. At the same time, the risk to the security of their personal data increases.
Nevertheless, the Federal Administration remains cautious. It is considering switching to other products "for certain use cases". However, a complete departure from Microsoft would be a "high-risk project".
