The Geneva Council of State envisaged three scenarios before retaining the Microsoft Cloud office suite. An internal note reveals the limits of open source alternatives, the cost of a change and the risks linked to an abandonment of Microsoft.
In early June, the Geneva Council of State validated the gradual deployment of Microsoft 365 tools hosted on the cloud. This decision is based on the analysis of several scenarios, exposed in an internal note signed by the State Councilor Carole-Anne Kast and first revealed exclusively by our colleagues of time (Paywall). Our editorial staff was able to consult a reproduction of this document, which examines three options: the maintenance of current tools, the adoption of an alternative solution or migration to Microsoft 365 in Cloud mode.
The status quo has been excluded due to security and maintenance constraints, the Office 365 suite currently used by the administration no longer having to be supported by the end of the year. The option of migration to an alternative solution has also been rejected. According to the internal note, these tools are deemed not very mature and offer features much less successful than those of Microsoft. The document also highlights the difficulty of modifying user habits. In support of this analysis, the State Councilor cites the examples of the cities of Munich, Vienne and the Royal Canadian Gendarmerie, which tried to replace Microsoft software with open source solutions. These initiatives have, according to the note, generated internal resistance and significant costs.
However, this scenario remains envisaged as “a background trajectory”, with a perspective of digital sovereignty. According to the conclusions of the second source project, managed by the Swiss digital administration with the participation of the Department of Institutions and Digital (DIN), such a disengagement can however be done in the long term, in a coordinated manner with other cantons, the Confederation and in a broader European framework.
A disengagement deemed expensive and technically complex
The document still specifies that the State of Geneva manages approximately 69 million Microsoft files, some 630,000 of which contain automation. Their conversion would represent “several thousand days man”, for lack of an alternative solution allowing an automated recovery. The internal note also stresses that numerous interlocutors – administrations, partners or providers – use Microsoft 365, which would complicate collaboration if the canton decided to remove it. Many authorities in Switzerland have already adopted Microsoft 365, notably those of Basel-Ville, Zug, Berne, Zurich, as well as the Confederation.
It is therefore the scenario of a progressive migration to Microsoft 365 Cloud that was selected. The note underlines that this choice must be accompanied by legal, contractual and technical guarantees in order to comply with the Swiss legal framework on data protection, in particular in the face of the risks linked to American legislation. The cost of encryption of sensitive data hosted on Microsoft servers is estimated at 600,000 francs. This expenditure could be offset by the decrease of other software charges, in particular those linked to antivirus and videoconferencing tools (Webex). The State of Geneva currently devotes 4.7 million francs per year to Microsoft licenses.
