Operation Sovereignty: Bundestag plans a breakthrough from Microsoft & Co.

The heart of German democracy intends to draw consistent conclusions from the tense global situation for its own IT infrastructure. According to Table.Media, the Bundestag is working under high pressure on a far-reaching restructuring of its digital architecture. The goal is ambitious and politically explosive: the parliament wants to break free from the technological grip of US corporations like Microsoft in order to act more resiliently and, above all, independently of third countries in times of crisis.

Under the leadership of Bundestag Vice-President Andrea Lindholz (CSU), a specialized commission has taken on the task of scrutinizing the entire digital ecosystem of the Bundestag, according to the report. This ranges from office software to cloud infrastructure. The complete digital strategy is to be presented in May.

The motivation behind this initiative is not a pure aversion to Silicon Valley products, but a question of the much-invoked state digital sovereignty. Lindholz emphasized to Table.Media that an independent digital environment should ensure control over parliamentary processes and sensitive data. It is about arming the parliament against cyberattacks. At the same time, it must be ensured that the operational capability of the members of parliament does not depend on the goodwill or export policies of US tech giants. Anna Lührmann of the Greens sums it up: the operational capability of the Bundestag must not be completely dependent on the infrastructure of a few large companies.

Delos as a bridging solution?

Currently, the reality in Berlin offices still largely resembles a monoculture. Microsoft 365 is the standard for over 10,000 workplaces in parliament and constituencies. Although there is already a second pillar with the open-source alternative Phoenix Suite, the path to a full-fledged replacement is arduous. Especially the high recognition and deep integration of Microsoft services, including with specialized applications, pose an enormous hurdle for the switch.

A European "all-in-one solution" that can compete with the convenience of established players would entail significant conversion effort. In parts of the parliament, there is therefore concern about a fragmented IT landscape in which various isolated solutions hinder efficiency rather than promote it.

In order not to jeopardize ongoing operations, the commission aims for controlled transitions. The cloud platform operated in Germany by SAP subsidiary Delos, into which Microsoft services can be directly integrated, is being discussed. Members of parliament see such an approach as a bridge to gain more sovereignty in the short term and avoid a "hard cut". Opponents of such cloud systems, in which US corporations remain involved, however, speak of "sovereignty washing". In the long term, the focus is therefore on purely European solutions such as Stackit, a cloud platform from the Schwarz Group.

Greens push for free software

According to the report, a first visible success of this new strategy is imminent: the Bundestag is expected to introduce the messenger service Wire. The European software is currently the only chat tool certified by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for classified information. This would send a signal from the parliament. The more state institutions rely on European software, the faster these alternatives will develop further and become competitive. A look at France, where Visio is to replace Microsoft Teams and Zoom in government agencies, shows that this path is also being followed internationally.

Unusually, there is rare agreement among the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag on the issue of resilience. Nevertheless, there are friction points in detail: the Greens are calling for an even more consistent focus on a robust open-source infrastructure. The fact that the commission is nevertheless fundamentally capable of acting was demonstrated in smaller issues such as digital attendance tracking. Instead of complicated app solutions, the committee pragmatically agreed to use the existing company badges at the recording terminals.

(mma)