Google challenges Swiss data cloud contract decision

Google has appealed a recent Swiss decision to award a cloud-computing contract to five other digital firms. The tender process has also come under criticism by defenders of data sovereignty. Google’s appeal targets the government’s decision last month to name US companies Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle, and Chinese firm Alibaba, as winning candidates to create a cloud-storage system for federal departments. On Wednesday, Google said that after close evaluation of this decision, it was convinced that its cloud services were up to the requirements and that it was the best-equipped to get the job. The contract, worth up to CHF110 million ($120 million), was awarded to these groups largely due to the “attractive” prices proposed, federal authorities said at the time. Confirming that Google’s appeal had been filed within the required delay, the Federal Chancellery said on Wednesday that the decision would now be examined by the Federal Administrative Court. It’s not the first...