Greater digital sovereignty: What we’ve learnt from moving away from Google

Dezentrum is based in Switzerland as an organisation. From a digital perspective, however, we like many others are at the mercy of US tech giants. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that software is not neutral.

Autocratic tendencies in the US, growing geopolitical uncertainty and the high concentration of digital infrastructure in the hands of a few corporations have prompted us to take action. After all, whoever stores our data ultimately determines which legal jurisdiction it falls under and which risks we share.

This is also, but not solely, about data protection. We are concerned about dependencies: what happens if (political) conditions change, a provider massively increases its prices, discontinues features, or a service suddenly becomes unavailable?

We wanted to regain control over our data. We wanted to become more independent as an organisation. And last but not least, we realised: practise what you preach!

During the process, we learnt what we should have anticipated: the technical switch is only half the battle. The bigger hurdle often lies with the people who have to work with the new tools. But more on that later.

To begin with, we defined clear requirements for our future infrastructure:

1. Open source: Wherever possible, the solutions used should be open and transparent.
2. User-friendliness & design: The tools must be simple, intuitive and visually appealing.
3. Location: Providers based in Switzerland, Europe or, at the very least, liberal democracies
4. Cost: The total cost should be in line with that of existing solutions.

We compared and tested many tools and services – and found what we were looking for.

Our first attempt: the «Hard Way» strategy

When we embarked on our journey towards greater digital sovereignty, we made a decision that, in hindsight, proved to be risky: we started with what was, for us, the most difficult part – moving away from Google Drive and, by extension, Google Docs and so on. The idea behind it was simple: if we tackled the biggest hurdle first, all the subsequent steps would be easier.

So we migrated our entire document storage from Google Drive to our own server in our office, a Synology NAS. The aim was maximum control, full data sovereignty, a one-off hardware cost and the lowest possible running costs.

Technically, the migration was ultimately successful. Nevertheless, we would not choose the same path today.

The move was complex, required a number of adjustments and, in some cases, entailed new workflows. A certain degree of uncertainty lingered within the team for quite some time, and scepticism towards further migration steps was clearly palpable.

What we’ve learnt: If you start with a «big chunk», you’ll have to do a lot of persuading and then wait longer before the next phase can even begin.

The second stage: email, contacts and calendar as an unexpected quick win

After the intensive phase of migrating our data from Drive, we tackled the next challenge a few months later: switching our email, calendar and contacts from Google to Proton.

And suddenly, everything went smoothly.

Whilst moving huge amounts of data from Drive to our server took a lot of effort, switching the tools over was very straightforward. (So straightforward, in fact, that we took the opportunity to migrate our password manager and web meeting infrastructure at the same time.)

Emails, contacts and passwords were transferred with virtually no disruption. The calendar switch was technically a little more demanding, as it is now primarily used via the Proton app or the web interface, but it was also implemented quickly.

The real surprise, however, was the team’s reaction.

Where there had previously been uncertainty, this time there was hardly any resistance. Within 30 to 60 minutes, we were able to complete the most important steps together and carry on working straight away. It was important here that we had everyone involved gathered round the same table.

It is worth mentioning in this context that some members of our team still use Google privately as a calendar and email tool. As Proton Calendar does not work with standard applications (such as Apple Calendar or the Google Calendar app) for encryption reasons, staff are now forced to install an additional app on their mobile phones. This could potentially lead them to switch from US tech providers to Proton in their private lives as well, so that they no longer have to use so many different tools. So, this migration could also have an impact on our staff’s digital sovereignty in their private lives.

Our recommendation: Start with the simple steps

If your organisation is also striving for greater digital sovereignty, we would recommend a different approach to the one we took:  Don’t start with data storage. Start with communication tools.

Why?

First steps towards sovereignty without stress: Emails are at the heart of all communication. As they are relatively straightforward to migrate from a technical point of view, you’ll be taking a huge step towards independence, yet it won’t feel like a big leap to your staff.

The psychology of success: In our Drive project, it took a long time for the new solution to be accepted in day-to-day use. When switching email and calendar systems, the adjustment period was practically over after just a few weeks. This builds trust in further changes and makes the next steps easier.

Regaining digital sovereignty is not just a technical project, it is also a process of change that takes time.

Conclusion: Freedom comes at a price, which we are happy to pay

Today, we run part of our infrastructure on our own hardware and have successfully moved key services out of the Google ecosystem. Yes, working with the new Drive is sometimes a little less ‘smooth’ than with Google. And we bear more responsibility for maintenance, security and availability (as our first DDoS attack on our server demonstrated).

But it’s a price we’re happy to pay. We’re swapping the convenience of total dependence for the freedom that comes with taking responsibility ourselves. And we’re motivated to take the next steps. There are still a few tools we’d like to move away from.

Would you like to know more?

If you’d like to find out more about the migration and the individual steps involved, or if you need help with your own migration and plan, get in touch!