Schleswig-Holstein on course: digital independence from US corporations!

Schleswig-Holstein on course: digital independence from US corporations!

at a time when digital independence is becoming increasingly decisive, the North German federal states are making a strong sign. Schleswig-Holstein is planning a comprehensive change in order to detach itself on the dependence of American technology groups such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google. This has now been announced by digitization Minister Dirk Schrödter. The aim is to replace Microsoft programs in public administrations with open source alternatives by September 2025. An important step to strengthen digital sovereignty in Europe and regain data sovereignty. These developments should serve as a model for other federal states and European countries, according to all about security.

Why is that necessary? The dependence on US software and cloud providers is enormous. American companies are currently dominating the European market and holding almost 70 percent. In contrast, the largest European provider only comes to a market share of 2 percent. In addition, the cloud act enables the US authorities to access data that is stored outside the USA. This puts the questions of data protection and national security into a new light and shows how much Europe is under pressure. According to Jan Penfrat from European Digital Rights (EDRI), this dependence also affects people's digital life.

Schleswig-Holstein's digital strategy

The digital strategy of Schleswig-Holstein relies on a solution that not only takes into account the European values ​​technologically but also legally. The planned open source programs such as LibreOffice, Thunderbird and Open-Xchange offer high adaptability and prevent the dependency on proprietary products. In this way, the public administration can not only work more efficiently, but also data protection -compliant.

But what does digital sovereignty mean specifically? According to the Fraunhofer Institute, it is the ability of a country or an organization to act independently in digital space. This includes control of telecommunications networks, data centers and cloud services. However, European market fragmentation complicates the development of uniform digital solutions and shows that it is time to invest in digital infrastructures to counter these challenges, as Digital Magazin emphasizes.

The way to digital independence

In order to further promote digital sovereignty, a number of measures are recommended, including the harmonization of the digital markets and the establishment of a European cloud infrastructure. In addition, there is a lack of qualified specialists in the EU-over 500,000 IT specialists are currently missing. These are some of the challenges that need to be addressed to secure the digital independence of Europe.

Why is that important? Digital sovereignty not only ensures more competition, it also promotes innovations and enables sustainable use of technologies. A strong European foundation in the digital world could not only strengthen national security, but also create new jobs and deepen the connection between companies and citizens. This view is also underlined by [pwc] (https://www.pwc.de/de/risk-regulatory/risk/open-software--software-management-und-comp. offers decisive advantages for companies and the public sector.

Overall, Schleswig-Holstein's initiative shows that the European digital future does not depend on the US technology giants. Instead, an independent and sustainable digital strategy could effectively represent the values ​​and interests of Europe and at the same time promote the innovative strength of the continent.