The Swiss Cloud: A Thought Experiment on Digital SovereigntyEsma Alili, Timo Feddern, Joanna Druey, and Valentin Egger

The Swiss Confederation has taken different measures in order to ensure digital sovereignty. To this goal, the state has a contract with five different external providers to achieve their vision, among them Microsoft, which owns data centres around the world. Reliance on external providers poses certain dangers to Switzerland’s digital sovereignty, including insufficient privacy statements and classification deficiencies.

In light of the research conducted on digital sovereignty we propose The Swiss Cloud as a first step towards reclaiming control over critical data. The proposal focuses on physical infrastructure embedded in a decentralised territorial layout, as well as software solutions. Furthermore, the aim is to make the cloud infrastructure more visible in public spaces and community areas, raising awareness among the general population of the digital realm and the existing dynamics surrounding the topic of digital sovereignty.

One of the proposed district data centres is located in Saanen. The project involves installing nine servers in an underused space of the train station, with the aim of raising awareness and contributing to the local community.

As part of the Swiss Cloud we propose guidelines for an ethical architecture of data centres. The case study of the Saanen train station is a first step in conveying the complex layers of the digital sphere to a broader public. By making the digital sphere accessible, people will become more familiar with the concept of digital sovereignty and all its dynamics, as well as Switzerland’s position within it.