Åsa Zetterberg’s one-sided conclusions about the state and the cloud

Fredric Wallsten

CEO, Safespring

This article was written together with City Network, Binero, and Elastx.

Our industry association IT & Telekomföretagen argues in an op-ed on October 29 in Computer Sweden that government organizations in Sweden have fallen far behind on digitalization and that the reason is that “the public market for cloud services has stood still since 2018 due to legal uncertainties.” The consequence, the authors claim, is that Sweden ranks only 14th out of 36 by EU measures when it comes to the digitalization of public administration, and that taxpayers have footed a bill of 4.6 billion so far in the form of forgone efficiencies.

As representatives of Swedish cloud service providers, we find it astonishing that the industry association representing one of the fastest-growing sectors in our country continues to be so blinkered in its perspectives regarding the state and the cloud—both in its portrayal of reality and in its proposed solutions for Sweden’s continued digitalization.

First

…the regulatory frameworks are not ambiguous. As always, you must choose providers that can offer services that comply with Swedish and European law. Swedish companies must, of course, adapt to the laws that apply in foreign markets. Likewise, foreign IT companies must adapt to our Swedish regulations—not the other way around, as IT & Telekomföretagen advocates.

Second

…this is not an issue that we in Sweden need to solve on our own. Swedish IT companies now have the chance to join initiatives at the EU level, where the European Commission has allocated 10 billion euros to promote the development of local, European cloud services that, among others, the public sector can use. If we do that now, we have every opportunity to help shape and influence developments, thereby also benefiting Swedish innovation and entrepreneurship in the field. With a broader range of platforms and services, more options would be created for our authorities, thereby limiting vulnerabilities in our society.

Third

…we also want to emphasize that progress in the public sector has not stood still since 2018. We are working on several projects with the public sector that we consider both progressive and forward-thinking in their approach to developing new services. But progress could of course be even faster if we join forces—between agencies and Swedish cloud companies, and also with the ongoing projects in the EU. There, IT & Telekomföretagen has an important role to play in coordinating and bringing all these parts together as the industry’s representative. Moreover, IT & Telekomföretagen also represents us Swedish providers, and we do not understand why the Swedish alternatives are not highlighted as an option for the public sector, where full regulatory compliance is already built in?

Regional innovation

We agree that Sweden should be able to take a better position in the EU ranking of public digital services. But the path there must also include regional innovation and the development of new cloud services that meet our Swedish laws and values. That would benefit both Sweden and Europe with jobs, tax revenue, and long-term innovation. It would also create balance in a market that is entirely dominated by foreign companies and that puts our agencies in a very difficult position.

But to get there, IT & Telekomföretagen needs a more proactive stance on these issues. Our call to Åsa Zetterberg is therefore to raise her sights and take the lead on behalf of Sweden and Swedish cloud companies in these EU-level initiatives, and to align the industry’s interests and opportunities with the government’s ambitions on the cloud. Only then can we, together, support and accelerate the public sector’s digitalization and give citizens even better service and value for their tax money.

• Fredric Wallsten, CEO and founder, Safespring
• Johan Christenson, CEO and founder, City Network, part of Iver
• Charlotte Darth, CEO, Binero Group
• Joakim Öhman, CEO and founder, Elastx