The same week Microsoft added outside models to M365 Copilot, the Swiss federal government began moving 3,000 seats off M365.
On September 7, Microsoft made OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra available in Copilot Cowork and Copilot Studio, with Fable 5.1 also selectable. In the same week, the Swiss federal government published results from a pilot involving 172 staff and began rolling out openDesk, a German open-source suite, on 3,000 workstations — about 7 percent of its people. The budget is CHF 9 million, with full migration targeted for the end of 2027.
The two are not connected by cause. The reasons Switzerland gave were extraterritorial access to data under US cloud law, dependence on a single vendor, and rising cost. What Copilot can do is not among them. The contest Microsoft is running — adding capability on top of Office — and the decision a government makes about whose foundation to sit on move along different axes. Winning the first does not remove the reasons behind the second. Note: whether the Swiss pilot proceeds to full migration is not settled.
Whether openDesk reaches all federal staff by the end of 2027 or stops at 7 percent. Whether adding GPT-6 Astra shows up in the number of apps built in Copilot Studio.