Storing data in Swiss data centres offers a number of advantages for companies, mainly due to Switzerland's reputation for political stability, robust data protection, technological infrastructure and innovation. Here are the main reasons why it's beneficial:

Strong Data Protection Laws

Switzerland is known for having some of the strictest data privacy laws in the world. The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and the Federal Data Protection Ordinance (DPO) provide a rigorous framework for data protection, ensuring that personal data is handled securely and with a high level of confidentiality. 

By using services and applications hosted in Switzerland, a foreign company can benefit from these high standards, ensuring that the data processed and stored through these services is handled with a high level of security and compliance. This is particularly appealing to companies dealing with sensitive or critical data.

Moreover, Swiss data protection legislation is aligned with EU’s GDPR. Despite some significant differences in the laws, the basic concepts are similar. You can find a comparison of the GDPR and the FADP in our article.

Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, its data protection laws are considered adequate by the EU, meaning they are recognised as providing a comparable level of protection to the GDPR. This status makes it easier to transfer data between EU countries and Switzerland, providing a smooth compliance landscape for businesses operating in these regions.

Political and Economic Stability

Switzerland’s long-standing reputation for neutrality and political stability makes it a safe haven for data storage. Economic stability further enhances this appeal, providing a secure environment for long-term data storage solutions without the risks associated with political turmoil or economic volatility found in some other regions.

A politically stable environment reduces the risk of data governance laws being suddenly changed or influenced by political pressure. 

This stability makes Switzerland an attractive data hosting location for companies seeking long-term reliability.

High Level of Privacy

Switzerland is not a member of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), which means it is not subject to the same data retention laws as countries within these unions. This independence allows Switzerland to maintain its strict privacy standards and offers companies an extra layer of protection against foreign surveillance and data requests.

Given the strong legal protections and historical emphasis on privacy, data hosted in Switzerland is less likely to be subject to foreign surveillance and seizure than data stored in jurisdictions with more invasive data access laws. This is critical for companies handling data that is sensitive to corporate espionage or government surveillance.

Geographical Safety

Located in the heart of Europe, Switzerland has a very low risk of natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or significant seismic activity. This is crucial for data centres as reduces the risk of data loss due to natural disasters.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Switzerland has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, which extends to its data centres. The country uses a high proportion of renewable energy, and many Swiss data centres are designed to be energy efficient and minimise their carbon footprint, appealing to companies with green policies.

Switzerland is also renowned for its decarbonisation efforts, ranking in the top 5 of the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index.

Our company hosts its own and client data in the Stollen Lucerne data centre, which is a member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (as a part of EWL).

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure

Swiss data centres are renowned for their high quality infrastructure, advanced technology and stringent security measures.

During the global nuclear arms race, many bunkers were built in Switzerland, which are now used (among other things) as data centre premises, providing maximum physical protection.

The data centres also have access to hydroelectric power and water for cooling, thanks to the proximity of large lakes, of which Switzerland has many.

Switzerland is interconnected with major European internet exchange points (IXPs), ensuring that traffic can be routed efficiently and quickly across Europe and beyond, providing low latency for businesses that rely on real-time data access and communications. Switzerland has a reliable and advanced telecommunications infrastructure, ensuring high uptime and minimal service disruption.

Reputation and Trust

Storing data in Swiss data centres can enhance a company's reputation for protecting customer data. The "Swiss made" label extends beyond watches and chocolate to data services, where it conveys a commitment to quality, precision and reliability.

Switzerland's reputation for privacy and neutrality can serve as a strong point of trust for stakeholders and customers who may be concerned about data privacy. Using a Swiss-hosted applications and services can enhance a company's reputation for prioritising customer privacy, which is increasingly becoming a key factor for customers when choosing between services.

These factors make Switzerland an attractive location for data storage, offering companies robust security, privacy, and reliability for their critical data infrastructure.

Sources:

EU’s Adequacy decisions

Federal Act on Data Protection

Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact

Energy – Facts and Figures

Digital Competitiveness Ranking

Speedtest Global Index