From May 18 to 20, 2026, re:publica gathers nearly 30,000 expected attendees in Berlin to discuss tech, society, and digital policy. For Swiss and DACH SMEs, three issues deserve particular attention.
1. Data residency: law alone is not enough
Geographic data location is the first reflex when discussing sovereignty. Storing in Switzerland or in the EU — it's a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one.
The US CLOUD Act allows authorities to demand access to data hosted by American companies, regardless of where it's stored. An Azure server in Zurich remains subject to US law if the operator is Microsoft.
The key distinction: location ≠ sovereignty. Sovereignty implies control — over code, infrastructure, and the decision chain. This is precisely the point of the exchange between Markus Beckedahl and Karsten Wildberger, Germany's Federal Minister for Digital Affairs, at re:publica 26: "Digitale Macht begrenzen" — limiting the digital power of those who control the infrastructure.
For a Swiss SME, this means knowing not only where your data resides, but who can access it, under which jurisdiction, and with what code. A private cloud built on Apache CloudStack and KVM — a 100% open source stack, Apache 2.0 license — answers all four questions unambiguously.
2. Technology dependency: the cost of lock-in
Broadcom's acquisition of VMware put a price tag on lock-in: +800% to +1,500% on licenses, overnight. 98% of VMware customers are considering alternatives. 36% have already migrated.
This gap illustrates the real problem: technology dependency goes unnoticed when everything works fine. It reveals itself when the vendor changes the rules.
At re:publica 26, Schleswig-Holstein will present its complete migration to open source — from desktops to servers. The first German state to take the leap. The city of Munich will unveil a "sovereignty score" to measure an organization's digital dependencies.
The European open source ecosystem now offers alternatives at every layer:
- Virtualization: KVM (built into the Linux kernel) replaces ESXi
- Cloud orchestration: Apache CloudStack or OpenStack replace vCenter/vSphere
- Collaboration: Nextcloud replaces Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace
- Communication: Matrix/Element replaces Slack / Teams
- Object storage: Ceph or MinIO replace proprietary solutions
These are not prototypes. CloudStack powers the clouds of KDDI, Orange, and China Telecom. Nextcloud equips the German federal government. Matrix is used by the Bundeswehr and NATO.
3. Total cost of ownership: the "cheaper cloud" myth
Public cloud appeals through its initial simplicity: no server to buy, no infrastructure to manage. But the total cost tells a different story.
The numbers are documented:
- 25% of organizations have already repatriated at least one workload from the public cloud
- USD 280,000: average cost of migrating from one cloud to another for a mid-market organization
- 38% of migration projects exceed budget, by an average of 14 to 23%
- Primary reason for repatriation: cost (54%), ahead of performance (31%) and sovereignty (27%)
For a Swiss SME with 30 VMs, the 3-year comparison is straightforward. Post-Broadcom VMware licenses: CHF 135,000 to 225,000. The same infrastructure on CloudStack + KVM: CHF 0 in licensing, costs limited to hardware and commissioning.
Server hardware today — AMD EPYC processors, NVMe, ECC — is powerful and affordable enough for a single physical server to run a complete private cloud for an SME. On-premises infrastructure is not a step backward. It's an economic calculation.
What re:publica tells the rest of Europe
When Max Schrems (NOYB) presents his legal strategies against Big Tech, Cory Doctorow dissects platform "enshittification," and a German Digital Minister takes stock from the stage, it signals that digital sovereignty is moving beyond the specialist circle to become a boardroom topic.
For Swiss and DACH SMEs, the tools exist. The legal framework is strengthening. The technical alternatives are mature. The only remaining risk is doing nothing.