Almost every SME today uses services from large US providers: email, file storage, video conferencing, accounting. That is convenient. But it also means that key parts of the business depend on decisions made far away without regard for you – price increases, changed terms of use or access by foreign authorities.
Digital sovereignty does not mean running everything yourself. It means deciding consciously which data lives where, and being able to switch at any time.
Three questions to start with
- Where is your data actually stored? Many companies do not know in which country their emails, backups and documents are kept.
- Can you get out again? Can your data be exported in an open format if you want to change provider?
- What happens during an outage? Can you keep working if the service or your internet connection is down for a day?
Steps that pay off quickly
- Bring backups to Switzerland. A second backup in a Swiss data centre protects against outages and ransomware – regardless of where the original data lives.
- Secure email. With SPF, DKIM and DMARC you control who may send email in your name. This also works with Microsoft 365.
- Consider open-source software. For file storage, email, telephony or ERP there are mature open-source solutions without licence lock-in.
- Run automation and AI locally. Tools like n8n and local language models run on your own servers. Confidential data never leaves the company.
The goal: freedom of choice
This is not about demonising the cloud. It is about staying in control and not sliding, out of convenience, into a dependency that becomes expensive later. Our servers & virtualisation service helps you get there.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give up Microsoft 365?
No. It is about conscious decisions. Often it is enough to additionally keep backups and particularly sensitive data in Switzerland.
Isn’t your own infrastructure more expensive than the cloud?
Calculated over several years, often not. Licence and subscription costs keep rising, while your own hardware is predictable. We calculate both options for you.
What does the US CLOUD Act mean for Swiss companies?
Under certain circumstances it allows US authorities to access data stored by US providers – even in European data centres. That is a reason to keep sensitive data with Swiss providers.
