Digital Sovereignty: Why and How to Reduce Dependence on American Hyperscalers

Gmail for emails, Google Drive for files, Microsoft Teams for video calls, ChatGPT for AI… Over a few years, American tools have become integral to the daily operations of most European organizations. This often unnoticed reliance has been gradually built, one account at a time, one subscription after another, until the entire work chain depends on external solutions.

The scenario has shifted. Amid geopolitical tensions, unpredictable political decisions, and extraterritorial laws, digital technology has become an economic lever of pressure between states. The question is no longer theoretical: what would happen if access to one of these services were restricted, suspended, or subjected to new conditions? What alternatives exist to regain control over one’s tools and data?

Explore Infomaniak

American cloud services: a turbulent zone

Structural dependency…

Today, cloud infrastructures are directly subject to the political and commercial decisions of major powers. Extraterritorial laws like the American CLOUD Act, economic sanctions, access restrictions, and unilateral tariff increases… European organizations that entrust their data to providers under foreign jurisdictions face risks they cannot control.

The CLOUD Act, passed in 2018, allows U.S. authorities to demand access to data stored by American companies, even when this data is physically hosted in Europe. In practice, a small or medium enterprise, a local government, or a health institution could have its information accessed by a foreign authority without even being notified. For sectors handling sensitive data (healthcare, legal, finance, administration), this situation presents both a compliance issue and a trust problem.

…and economic as well

Dependence on proprietary technologies places companies in a position where they cannot refuse annual price increases due to a lack of viable alternatives, a concept known as vendor lock-in. A change in commercial policy, an access restriction, or a tariff change can occur without notice or recourse. And in terms of GDPR compliance, American players navigate in gray areas that European providers do not have to manage.

The cost of this dependence is also economic. According to an Asterès study for Cigref, Europeans spend 264 billion euros annually with American hyperscalers. For instance, Switzerland, with just 9 million inhabitants, ranks as the 10th largest global market for Microsoft. Every euro spent with a sovereign provider is an euro that stays on the continent, supports local expertise, and contributes to the European circular economy.

Established alternatives are available

Contrary to popular belief, European solutions are neither less reliable nor less mature than American solutions. Several European players now offer competitive services that meet the daily digital needs of both individuals and businesses.

Infomaniak, over 30 years of sovereignty

Among these, Infomaniak stands out. This independent Swiss company, established over 30 years ago, has developed a complete ecosystem without ever relying on the technologies of American giants.

Many users are familiar with SwissTransfer, the free service that allows sending up to 50 GB without registration, but few know that it is an Infomaniak product. The same goes for kDrive, a sovereign alternative to Google Drive or Dropbox with multi-device synchronization, file versioning, and integrated collaborative editing via an office suite compatible with Microsoft Office formats.

my kSuite, a free and complete suite

The package is part of my kSuite, a free suite for individuals that includes professional email, cloud storage with 15 GB on kDrive, unlimited video conferencing with kMeet, shared calendars, and integrated AI. All this without ads and without exploiting user data.

In terms of artificial intelligence, the company launched at the end of 2025 Euria, a free and sovereign AI assistant. Its uniqueness lies in its exclusive hosting in Switzerland, its non-reliance on data collection to train its models, and a temporary mode that retains no records of interactions. This approach is designed for professionals handling sensitive information, in stark contrast to the model of American AIs that train on user queries.

For businesses, tailored offerings

Organizations looking to concretely reduce their dependence have two main options with Infomaniak.

For companies using Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, kSuite Pro offers a credible European alternative, covering email, document collaboration, and AI, with exclusive Swiss hosting and native GDPR compliance.

For technical and DevOps teams currently relying on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, Infomaniak’s Public Cloud offers a sovereign infrastructure including Kubernetes, managed databases, interoperability with existing ecosystems, and competitive pricing.

Uncommon structural independence

A consistent model

What sets Infomaniak apart from many actors claiming “sovereignty” is the consistency of its model from the start. The company designs and operates its own data centers, develops its software in-house, and uses no technological components from American hyperscalers. This end-to-end control significantly reduces the risks of systemic dependency or disruption due to external decisions.

Owned by its employees, not listed on the stock market, and solely governed by Swiss law (which is compatible with European law), the company is not exposed to extraterritorial laws or pressures from shareholders or investment funds. A stance that has been maintained for over three decades, driven by a founder still involved in strategic leadership, far from short-term growth strategies.

Environmental guarantees

This stability is also reflected in concrete environmental commitments. The data centers operate without air conditioning and water consumption for cooling. The heat generated by the servers, including those running the AI Euria, is fully reclaimed to supply the Geneva urban heating network, heating 6,000 homes or allowing 20,000 people to take a daily 5-minute shower. The entire infrastructure is powered by renewable energies. The energy architecture of the data center is publicly documented on d4project.org.

The business model is based on selling services, not on analyzing or monetizing customer data. At a time when digital sovereignty is emerging as a strategic issue for businesses and governments, these guarantees are no longer just a marketing argument, but a decisive selection criterion.

Learn more about Infomaniak