Executive Summary

Matthias Stürmer, director of the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at Bern University of Applied Sciences, calls for increased deployment of open-source software to strengthen Switzerland's digital sovereignty. Swiss SMEs and government agencies are increasingly dependent on major technology corporations such as Microsoft and Google. Domestic companies like Infomaniak, Phoenix, and Proton already offer alternatives in the areas of email, cloud, and document exchange. The state must take a leading role as a major user of digital solutions. The new Federal Act on Electronic Instruments obligates federal authorities to publish developed software as open source.

People

  • Matthias Stürmer (Director Institute for Public Sector Transformation, Bern University of Applied Sciences)

Topics

  • Digital sovereignty
  • Open-source software
  • Vendor lock-in
  • Technological independence

Clarus Lead

Geopolitical tensions worldwide make digital independence a strategic necessity for government agencies and the economy. Switzerland intensifies this dependency question: Over ten years, the public sector invested nearly 3 billion francs in proprietary software licenses – an incentive to rethink. With the new Federal Act on Electronic Instruments, Switzerland has created an instrument that gives private IT companies access to publicly financed source code and thus promotes market diversification.

Detailed Summary

Open-source software addresses the core problem of digital dependency: vendor lock-in. Proprietary vendors deliberately design their solutions to be incompatible with competitors' products, making switching to alternative providers economically unviable. Open-source models, by contrast, enable free access to source code, further development, and flexible vendor selection – essential for digital sovereignty.

The Swiss technology ecosystem cannot fully meet demand. Developing integrated software suites costs billions – beyond the reach of local companies. Stürmer advocates for network cooperation rather than national self-sufficiency: The Digital Sovereignty Network Switzerland should connect Swiss actors to jointly offer specialized solutions.

Practical success examples exist: The Federal Court has used Linux and LibreOffice for over 20 years and independently developed OpenJustitia for file management. Schleswig-Holstein demonstrated scalability: With a 9 million euro investment, the federal state migrated to OpenDesk, an open-source suite from the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration.

The new Federal Act on Electronic Instruments strengthens this effect: By requiring federal authorities to publish their software developments as open source, private IT companies benefit from source code access. They can adapt and further develop solutions for customers, which in the long term increases market diversity and reduces vendor concentration.

Key Statements

  • Digital dependency on Microsoft, Google, and other corporations is a strategic risk; open standards enable vendor switching and reduce vendor lock-in
  • Swiss alternative solutions (Infomaniak, Phoenix, Proton) are technically competitive but do not cover all business needs – cooperation rather than self-sufficiency is the model
  • The state must be a pioneer: Its market power and resources catalyze the shift to open source; the public sector then finances private services based on this software

Critical Questions

  1. Evidence/Data Quality: Is the claim that Swiss software solutions are "equivalent" to international offerings based on empirical comparative studies or customer reviews, or is this an expert opinion without benchmarking evidence?

  2. Conflicts of Interest: Stürmer chairs CH Open and the Digital Impact Network – are these positions coordinated with his advocacy for open-source solutions, and could institutional dependence on open-source promotion influence his advice?

  3. Causality: Is it assumed that public investment in open source automatically leads to private sector adoption, or are additional incentive mechanisms (subsidies, mandates) required to move private SMEs to switch?

  4. Feasibility/Risks: Migration from proprietary to open-source software requires "substantial investments" – how will SMEs with limited budgets bear these initial costs when ROI only arrives long-term and data security risks during transition must be minimized?

  5. Data Quality – Costs: The report mentions Schleswig-Holstein's 9 million euro investment as an example but provides no cost comparisons between open-source migration and continued operation of proprietary systems over the same time horizon – is comparability lacking?

  6. Geopolitical Alternative: Are non-American commercial software solutions (e.g., from the EU or Switzerland) also recognized as digital sovereignty, or is open source positioned as the only solution model?

  7. Market Diversification: Does mandated open-source publication of federal authority software lead to genuine competition in the private market, or does usage continue to concentrate on a few dominant players that can commercialize this source code most efficiently?

Sources

Primary Source: "The state must lead by example in the IT sector" – Interview with Matthias Stürmer https://www.kmu.admin.ch/kmu/de/home/aktuell/interviews/2026/it-bereich-staat-gutem-beispiel-vorangehen.html

Verification Status: ✓ 03.06.2026

This text was created with the assistance of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-checking: 03.06.2026