Every established tech company eventually faces a crossroads: do you stick with the stable but restrictive legacy platform you know, or do you take the leap to build a modern, open-source future? This is the story of how Swisscom, a premier Swiss service provider, didn’t just face that decision; they mastered it.
The Vision: A Sovereign Cloud for Switzerland
As a leader in a nation with some of the world’s most stringent data protection laws, Swisscom has always been committed to delivering innovative, enterprise-grade technology. Their existing “Container Service” was functional, but they envisioned something more for their private cloud customers: a true next-generation platform.
The goal was ambitious but clear: create a modern, powerful, and flexible Kubernetes service that could guarantee data sovereignty while giving Swisscom full control over the quality and reliability of their own offerings.
Dependencies and Complexity
Achieving this vision meant confronting several significant challenges:
- Strict Data Sovereignty: The platform had to be engineered from the ground up to meet rigorous Swiss data protection laws, with all operations contained within Switzerland.
- Modernization Gap: To compete with global hyperscalers, the new service needed advanced features like autoscaling, native load balancing, and faster Kubernetes updates.
- Reduced vendor reliance: The new solution should provide maximum technological freedom and eliminate any form of dependency, enabling us to shape our roadmap autonomously.
- Operational Complexity: Building a new, multi-tenant Kubernetes platform from scratch required a highly automated approach to management.
A New Foundation Built on Open Source and Kubermatic
Instead of an incremental update, Swisscom made a bold choice: to architect an entirely new, highly available platform from the ground up, grounded in open-source technologies and cloud-native principles. This is where the collaboration with Kubermatic began.
"Together with Kubermatic, a leading Kubernetes platform provider, we have established a robust and future-ready foundation based on open-source technologies," states Christian Dietrich, Product Manager for Cloud Services at Swisscom.
The core of this new foundation is the Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform (KKP). It provides the powerful orchestration and automation engine that enabled Swisscom to:
- Automate the full cluster lifecycle, from provisioning to updates and autoscaling across multiple regions.
- Deliver a rich, CNCF-certified feature set, including flexible networking (CNI), enhanced security (RBAC), and a native Kubernetes Load Balancer.
- Build on a 100% open-source stack, empowering them with a truly modern and flexible service.
A Win-Win for Swisscom and Its Customers
The launch of the new Kubernetes Service, powered by Kubermatic, represents a significant step forward in strengthening Swisscom’s technological foundation and expanding future capabilities.
This advancement introduces a modern, cloud native stack that lowers technical dependencies, provides full architectural flexibility and greater autonomy over their technology roadmap. This shift allows them to offer a more competitive and innovative service.
Consequently, their customers are the ultimate beneficiaries. They now have access to a sovereign and compliant Kubernetes platform, with all infrastructure and support contained exclusively within Switzerland. They get a modern, feature-rich, and intuitive self-service experience and performance comparable to leading global cloud providers, ultimately accelerating their own digital transformation journeys.
This collaboration is more than just a technical success; it’s a blueprint for building a modern, sovereign cloud future without compromise.
About Swisscom
Swisscom is the leading ICT company in Switzerland and, with Fastweb + Vodafone, the strong #2 in the Italian market. The company offers mobile, Internet and TV, as well as comprehensive IT and digital services to private and business customers. Swisscom is the most sustainable telecommunications company in the world and is 51% owned by the Swiss Confederation.
Swisscom successfully launched its new Kubernetes Service, a completely re-architected, CNCF-certified platform for its Private Cloud users.
Built in partnership with Kubermatic and powered by the Kubermatic Kubernetes Platform (KKP), the service establishes a modern, open and flexible technological foundation that enhances efficiency, expands architectural freedom, and supports continued innovation. The result is a feature rich, sovereign and cloud native solution that stands on par with the capabilities of leading global hyperscalers.
