Switzerland tenders its government cloud, up to CHF 7bn in three lots

Switzerland tenders its government cloud, up to CHF 7bn in three lots

20 October 2026: The Swiss Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (BIT) has published the tender for the Swiss Government Cloud on the SIMAP procurement platform, under the reference "WTO 25002 609 Swiss Government Cloud". The contracts are worth up to CHF 7 billion over 14 years across three lots, and no supplier can win more than one of them.

Not yet independently verified. The prequalification deadline is given only as 60 days from publication and we have not read the SIMAP notice itself; earlier figures on the programme come from Netzwoche alone. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The three lots

BIT describes a hybrid multi-cloud built in three tiers, each matched to a level of innovation, protection need and sovereignty:

Lot	Tier	Awards	Maximum volume
1	Public cloud "Global Reach", services from globally active providers	two providers	CHF 2 billion
2	Public cloud "Enhanced Data Governance", data stored and processed only in Switzerland, using open-source solutions	two providers	CHF 2 billion
3	Private cloud "On-Premise" in federal data centres, for especially sensitive applications	one provider	CHF 3 billion

The volumes are maxima over the whole term, and costs arise only for resources actually used. BIT says the total is based on what the federal government spends on cloud services today, an estimate of what cantons and municipalities would need, and expected growth. Cantons and communes are meant to be able to use the platform too.

How the procurement runs

Awards last seven years, after which the market is reopened, for a total term of 14 years. The procedure has two phases: a prequalification phase of 60 days from publication, then a bidding phase. If no appeals with suspensive effect are lodged, BIT expects to publish the awards and sign the contracts in late summer 2027, with the first services called off in late autumn 2027. The tender does not prescribe providers, products or technologies, and it applies criteria from the federal directive on digital sovereignty. The one-lot-per-supplier rule, BIT says, reduces dependence on any single provider or jurisdiction.

The background

Netzwoche notes that the federal government's earlier "Public Clouds Bund" tender in 2021 went to AWS, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Alibaba, and that Parliament has since asked for open standards, open source and room for Swiss providers. For cloud providers and integrators, the immediate task is the prequalification file: counted from 20 October, 60 days runs to mid-December, so the exact closing date and the suitability criteria in the SIMAP documents are the first thing to check.

Sources

• Federal Office of Information Technology (BIT): Swiss Government Cloud, Ausschreibung gestartet, 20 October 2026
• Netzwoche: Bund schreibt Cloud-Aufträge für bis zu 7 Milliarden Franken aus, 20 October 2026