Swiss Firms Embrace Local Region for Microsoft Azure Cloud

Swiss enterprises, typically conservative about cloud migration, have grown more accepting of the Microsoft Azure cloud since a Switzerland region was established for it in 2020, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lenstm Microsoft Ecosystem Partners report for Switzerland finds most Swiss companies still prefer local cloud providers and are reluctant to migrate business processes and applications to Azure, mostly because of data security concerns. However, since Microsoft created the Swiss region, IT service providers have significantly increased their commitment to Azure and more enterprises have adopted it.

"Azure is beginning to find a place in the Swiss cloud business," said Uwe Ladwig, director, ISG DACH. "Companies are migrating to Azure with service providers that have local operations and meet their security requirements."

The pandemic changed the operational strategies and IT budgets of Swiss enterprises, increasing overall adoption of cloud technologies, the report says. In the first year of the crisis, companies had to devote considerable effort to encouraging use of the cloud to allow for remote work. In the second year, price became a major factor in cloud strategy as many IT budgets shrunk ? though companies continued to invest heavily in data security.

Most large enterprises adopting Azure in Switzerland have partnered with large service providers, while small and midsize companies have chosen local partners, ISG says.

The report also explores several other aspects of Swiss Microsoft adoption, including the growing use of Microsoft Power Platform. Most companies are using it to enable citizen software development, even though many organizations in Switzerland are still reluctant to let non-IT employees write software. Cautious enterprises are mainly concerned with governance issues, because democratized programming could give the new class of developers access to sensitive data.

"Swiss enterprises can become much more agile using Power Platform," said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. "Service providers can help them integrate it into corporate IT and build governance strategies to ensure it is used responsibly."

The 2022 ISG Provider Lenstm Microsoft Ecosystem Partners report for Switzerland evaluates the capabilities of 24 providers across two quadrants: Managed Services for Azure and Power Platforms Services.

The report names Ambit Gruppe, Aveniq, SoftwareONE and Swisscom as Leaders in both quadrants. It names Avanade, Baggenstos, Bechtle, DIGITALL, EveryWare, T-Systems and UMB as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, DataONE and DIGITALL are named as Rising Stars ? companies with a "promising portfolio" and "high future potential" by ISG's definition ? in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from Bechtle and DIGITALL.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lenstm Microsoft Ecosystem Partners report for Switzerland is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lenstm Research

The ISG Provider Lenstm Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including more than 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries?a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.