The Swiss Cloud issue must be distinguished from the of ‘Public Clouds Bund’ procurement project (WTO-20007). While Public Clouds Bund procurement benefits both the central and the decentralised Federal Administration, Swiss Cloud was about examining the need, the design, the necessity and the feasibility of a Swiss state cloud solution. This was done in collaboration with experts from business, academia and public administrations at all three levels of government.
In December 2020, the Federal Council took note of the report on the needs assessment. The report was published. It indicates that there is no need for a ‘Swiss Cloud’ in the form of an independent technical infrastructure subject to public law and as a success factor for Switzerland as a business location. In the first half of 2021, the option of a certification system for cloud services was examined. No clear state regulatory need for a national certification system was identified. In particular, a wide range of standards and certification systems (such as CSA, STAR, FedRAMP, ECSA, TCDP, C5:2020) already exist for the key aspects of data protection and information security.
Work is continuing to explore inclusion in European initiatives (e.g. secure and trustworthy data infrastructure for Europe, GAIA-X). The DTI is still in contact with experts from industry and academia in order to monitor developments in this dynamic technological environment.
