Thomas Maurer details how Microsoft is helping Swiss organizations achieve digital sovereignty, highlighting cloud region options, compliance features, and secure multi-cloud management for technical stakeholders.

How Microsoft is Addressing Digital Sovereignty in Switzerland

Author: Thomas Maurer

Microsoft Switzerland has introduced a focused set of cloud solutions and investments to help Swiss organizations retain full control over their data while maximizing the benefits of cloud computing.

Key Topics Covered

  • Digital sovereignty requirements: Where is data stored? Who can access it? How can customers control it?
  • Cloud region options: Swiss organizations can keep data within Switzerland using Microsoft’s cloud regions in Zurich and Geneva.
  • Sovereign Public Cloud: All European regions, including Switzerland, offer features such as data residency, encryption controls, and regulated environment management. No migration to standalone datacenters is needed.
  • Sovereign Private Cloud: For maximum autonomy, Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local allow workloads to run in on-premises or customer-controlled environments with unified security and management.
  • Key capabilities:
    • Data Guardian: Local (Europe-based) access approval and monitoring
    • External Key Management: Customers hold their own encryption keys (on-premises or with trusted third parties)
    • Regulated Environment Management: Centralized oversight for all sovereignty features
  • Open and hybrid design: Azure Arc allows unified management of resources across multi-cloud and hybrid environments, giving organizations flexibility and choice in their infrastructure strategy.
  • Compliance and regulatory support: The Sovereign Landing Zone (SLZ) is a specialized Azure Landing Zone with built-in policies and Infrastructure-as-Code to enforce regulatory requirements.
  • Advanced security features: Azure Confidential Computing keeps data encrypted even during processing; Microsoft enables bring-your-own-key scenarios for further security assurance.
  • European digital commitments: Microsoft has rolled out public pledges around AI, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and economic growth to support regional regulations and ethical standards.
  • Major investment: Microsoft is investing USD 400 million to expand Swiss cloud infrastructure, boost AI capabilities, and train 1 million people in digital and AI skills by 2027.

Technical Options and Controls

  • Azure Regions: Select appropriate cloud regions for physical data residency.
  • EU Data Boundary: Store and process public sector and commercial customer data (including for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and most Azure services) within EU/EFTA regions, including Switzerland.
  • Management Tools:
    • Azure Arc: Single-pane-of-glass management across cloud/on-prem/hybrid
    • Azure Policy & Sovereign Landing Zone: Automated compliance enforcement for infrastructure deployments
  • Confidential Computing: Data remains encrypted during processing for higher protection
  • Encryption Control: Bring and control your own encryption keys with External Key Management and built-in Azure tools

Why It Matters

Switzerland has stringent requirements for data privacy and sovereignty. Microsoft’s comprehensive approach, integrating technical, organizational, and partnership measures, enables organizations in Switzerland (and across EMEA) to meet strict compliance and resilience needs without sacrificing cloud agility or innovation.

Learn more: Digital Sovereignty Switzerland site, Azure Confidential Computing, Azure Arc, Sovereign Landing Zone

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