Digital sovereignty feels good, but is it really?

"The availability of digital systems in Europe tends to rely on peaceful US relations. Ministries, municipalities, critical infrastructure, and private institutions have become heavily dependent on American cloud services. The most ambitious politicians claim that a truly European sovereign cloud is "within reach." Can we expect to be freed from US hyperscalers any time soon? And is the alternative to this foreign public cloud mature enough to be a genuine possibility?"

"The road to digital sovereignty isn't traveled in a single step. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has been working hard for years to get rid of Microsoft, for example. Back in 2021, the state announced it would move away from Microsoft 365 and adopt LibreOffice for its productivity suite. Today, Windows systems and SharePoint domains still keep Schleswig-Holstein's IT services running, even though Exchange Server was phased out in late 2025."

European digital availability depends heavily on peaceful US relations because ministries, municipalities, critical infrastructure, and private institutions rely on American cloud services. Many politicians aim for a European sovereign cloud, but full disengagement from US hyperscalers faces substantial technical and organizational hurdles. Schleswig-Holstein's multi-year effort to replace Microsoft tools illustrates the slow, incremental nature of migration: despite plans to adopt LibreOffice and retire Exchange Server, Windows and SharePoint remain in use. The acquisition of Dutch Solvinity by an IBM spinoff raised concerns about control over DigiD, and auditors report that over 90% of vital public institutions use American cloud providers, complicating rapid autonomy.

Read at Techzine Global