Moving your org off Big Tech

For the past few months I've been following Nīkau, "a global platform, information and operations security consultancy in service to NGOs, impact-driven organisations and grassroots movements". In addition to security auditing, etc. they also run courses, such as Cloudbreak which is an intensive 6-hour session "[walking] participants through the process of building up and tightly securing powerful cloud infrastructure" to provide "alternatives to Google Docs & Drive, Zoom & more."

So when I received an email last night from Nīkau entitled Moving your org off big tech I was intrigued. It's essentially a very long blog post distilling a lot of accumulated wisdom. It's somewhat technical, and focuses on the processes involved in moving people off Big Tech platforms, but there's plenty of overlap.

As such, it's a useful companion piece to the more socio-technical approach that we (i.e. FIELD STATION) are taking with TechFreedom.

A difference between what is presented here and what may be encountered in some other guidance is that this article centers sovereignty, going beyond simply wanting to migrate off big tech onto alternative platforms – something readily achieved with managed hosting. Managed hosting, while convenient, doesn’t implement a data and infrastructure sovereign stack. Rather, someone else manages all that for you, so rendering your organisation dependent on that business, and on their terms.

Sure, you’re off big tech, but far from being in control.

For some, this is enough, they simply want to get their data out of the US and off big tech platforms. In such cases, moving to any one of dozens of managed hosting providers in the EU or elsewhere might be enough. If this meets your needs, this post is not for you!

Another difference between advice given here and some elsewhere is that cost is not up front and center in decision making. Rather, the strategy is needs-first, working to find a match intersecting available alternatives, user testing, team capacity, ethical engagement, human behavioural patterns, and budget.

While such an overtly holistic approach can seem intensive (this is not a short read), it is essential to work with the people in your org as they experience and engage digital platforms, including them in your process. There is no use taking the ‘build it and they will come’ approach to moving home, no matter how fine that new home may look to a tech team. Such a move needs to be communicated around a strong story, arrived at consensually, and the move itself needs to be handled with patience and care.

I've added it to my growing TechFreedom Are.na channel. If you're interested in this kind of thing, we've got an upcoming a free taster session on 9th September.