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Digital Sovereignty

Digital Sovereignty

How sovereign is your digital infrastructure?

In 10 simple questions, find out where your organisation depends on individual software vendors today – and where open solutions and interfaces give you room to act again. Takes about five minutes.

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For each question, pick the answer closest to your situation. There is no right or wrong.

1 Where do your core IT systems run – servers, storage and data?Where your programs and data technically run. Example: are servers/files with Amazon (AWS), Microsoft (Azure) or Google – or with a European provider or yourself?
2 What do your teams use for documents, calendar and chat?The tools for daily work: documents, spreadsheets, calendar, chat. Example: Microsoft 365 (Word, Outlook, Teams) or Google Workspace – versus open alternatives like Nextcloud/LibreOffice.
3 Who runs your business email?Who technically runs your email. Example: is company mail on Microsoft Outlook/Exchange or Gmail – or with a European mail host or your own server?
4 Which search and AI services do you use day to day?Search and AI in daily work. Example: Google Search and ChatGPT – versus European/open alternatives (e.g. Qwant or self-hosted AI models).
5 How do you handle payments and financial flows?How money comes in and goes out. Example: everything via PayPal or Stripe – or classic bank/SEPA transfer and several providers.
6 Could you export and take all your data with you at any time?Whether you can get your data out at any time. Example: can you export customer data/documents as an open file (CSV, PDF) with a click and take them elsewhere?
7 Are your systems connected via open interfaces (APIs, open standards)?Whether your programs connect via open standards (APIs). Example: can your shop talk to your accounting automatically – or is everything hard-wired?
8 Do you have an exit strategy for critical services (two-vendor principle, exit clauses)?A plan for how you could leave a provider. Example: is there a second provider as backup and contract clauses for exit – or would switching be a leap in the dark?
9 How exposed are you to price increases from individual vendors?How easily a provider can dictate prices. Example: Microsoft 365 rose about 43% in 2026 – could you realistically switch, or would you have to pay?
10 Do you know exactly which vendors process which of your data, and where?Whether you know who processes which data. Example: is there a simple list of your services – which software, which data, which provider, which country?