Digital sovereignty — leaving Google and Microsoft?

The drive for digital sovereignty is accelerating across Europe. In June 2026, the European Commission announced a comprehensive tech sovereignty package, the EU Parliament switched from Google to Qwant for search, and France confirmed it will roll out “LaSuite” to replace Microsoft tools across government.

For UK businesses — particularly those in privacy-sensitive sectors like legal, medical, and financial services — this raises a question: should you consider moving away from US-based providers?

What’s available today

The most mature all-in-one alternative to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 is Proton Workspace, launched in March 2026 by the Swiss privacy company. It bundles:

  • Proton Mail (end-to-end encrypted email)
  • Proton Drive (cloud storage, docs, sheets)
  • Proton Calendar
  • Proton Meet (encrypted video conferencing)
  • Proton VPN and Pass (password manager)
  • Lumo (privacy-focused AI)

Over 100,000 businesses already use Proton’s ecosystem. The recently launched Easy Switch for Business allows gradual migration from Google Workspace — both systems run side-by-side while data moves in the background, with no forced cutover.

The trade-offs

Proton Workspace suits businesses where privacy is a priority and workflows centre on email and internal communication. It may frustrate teams that rely on CRM calendar sync (HubSpot, Salesforce), native Microsoft Teams integration, or scheduling tools like Calendly.

Other options

Proton is the most complete alternative today, but other EU and UK-hosted options exist. The right fit depends on your specific workflow, integration needs, and risk profile. We can discuss what’s available and whether any alternative is right for your business.

What this means for your business

Post-Brexit data governance and ICO compliance make jurisdictional control relevant to UK SMEs. But switching ecosystems is a significant decision — it depends on your workflows and the integrations you depend on.

Thinking of making a move? We can help you assess whether a sovereign alternative is right for your business, and explore what’s available.