If Europe wants to build a strong digital industry of its own, it must consciously purchase European technology. Universities can play an important role in this.
European universities spend millions of euros on IT: cloud and software services, cybersecurity tools, hardware. Most of that money goes to non-European players. When it comes to crucial platforms, we automatically look to the United States. China, on the other hand, plays a dominant role in hardware, telecoms and global supply chains. Cybersecurity is purchased globally, with heavyweights from Israel and the United States.
This dependence is the result of market logic: size matters. But we forget that we create that size ourselves, time and time again, with public money. We forget that digital infrastructure is not just a regular purchase. It is about control, data, legal dependence on foreign legislation and geopolitical risks. We are also making ourselves dependent on one large, often American supplier, which makes switching to another provider very difficult, expensive or risky. In turbulent geopolitical times, security of supply, export restrictions, sanctions and trade conflicts are part of reality. Digital dependence is also a strategic risk.
The university is a digital ecosystem. It manages the personal data of tens of thousands of students and staff. It processes sensitive research data with economic and sometimes strategic value. Every day, it is attacked by cybercriminals. If email, network access or storage fails, the institution immediately shuts down. It is therefore incomprehensible that tenders hardly ever explicitly take into account jurisdiction, portability and geopolitical dependence.
If Europe wants a fully-fledged digital industry, it must now do what every economic superpower does: use its own market to build up its own players. Not with slogans about innovation, but with purchasing decisions, tenders and long-term choices. We do not need to ban foreign technology, but we must stop pretending that every purchase is an isolated decision without consequences. Every tender helps an ecosystem to grow. And that ecosystem too often grows outside Europe.
Universities can change that. By giving European suppliers opportunities through smaller tenders. By demanding open standards. By making exit plans a contractual obligation. By avoiding supplier concentration. And by including geopolitical dependence as a fully-fledged criterion in tenders.
If Europe wants a competitive digital industry, it must act as an economic power and use its public institutions as leverage. Universities must also demonstrate their commitment in their IT purchases. Not out of nostalgia or protectionism, but out of strategic self-interest.
If Europe wants a competitive digital industry, it must act as an economic power and use its public institutions as leverage. And then universities, as places where knowledge and the future are created, must also show that they are serious in their IT purchases. Not out of nostalgia or protectionism, but out of strategic self-interest.
Karin Voets is the Chief Information Officer of the VUB University of Brussels
This opinion piece first appeared in the financial newspaper De Tijd.
