18.11.2025 –, FISCHER & HODLER
Bridging Policy and Code: Why Service Firms Are the Keystone of Digital Sovereignty
This keynote offers an institutionally focused look at digital sovereignty, emphasizing the often-overlooked role of FOSS-aligned service firms that work exclusively with governments. While FOSS mandates and public code policies are gaining traction, these ambitions often falter without sustained engagement with the people and firms who actually build, adapt, and maintain public infrastructure.
We begin by tracing a quiet but powerful through-line: the 2000 acquisition of Cygnus Solutions by Red Hat, followed nearly two decades later by IBMs $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat itself. These weren't just about code - they were acknowledgments that real value lies in firms that steward ecosystems through sustained, service-based relationships, grounded in open culture, upstream contributions, and shared governance. IBM recognized this, and invested in the community values as much as the platform.
That same logic now extends to the public sector. From Estonias federated architecture to Frances Linagora, Switzerlands Liip and Camptocamp, and U.S.-based CivicActions, governments are increasingly engaging FOSS service firm's not just as vendors, but as trusted stewards of public infrastructure. These firms are distinguished not only by what they build, but by how they work - practicing transparency, collaboration, and an ethos of care for the commons - and emerging trends in public procurement tied to firms that demonstrate stewardship.
This talk also explores how mission-aligned capital, including catalytic and evergreen investors, is emerging to support these ecosystems, enabling sustainable infrastructure without extractive exits.
Note: The speaker intends to hold direct conversations with Liip, Linagora, and Camptocamp prior to the event to ensure their perspectives are represented with accuracy and care.
In the end, digital sovereignty doesn't emerge from code alone - it grows from relationships rooted in trust, stewardship, and open culture.
And service firms are the keystone holding it all together.
Governments increasingly embrace open source policies but who ensures the systems built today are still serving the public in a decade? This talk makes the case that FOSS-aligned service firms are not just implementation partners, but long-term stewards of digital public infrastructure.
Through examples like Red Hats acquisition of Cygnus, Estonias federated stack, and firms like Liip, Linagora, Camptocamp, and CivicActions, this session explores how digital sovereignty depends on trusted relationships, open culture, and sustained capacity. It also highlights how mission-aligned, catalytic capital is beginning to back these ecosystems, signaling a shift from short-term delivery to long-term public value.
Perfect for policymakers, technologists, and funders, this 20-minute keynote reframes digital sovereignty not as a policy outcome but as a shared practice sustained by people, culture, and care.
Henry Poole is the CEO of CivicActions, a company dedicated to building open and user-centered digital services for government. He also serves as a board member of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), advocating for software freedom and ethical technology. Notably, Henry published the original Affero General Public License (AGPLv1) in 2002. With a career focused on leveraging free software principles for public good, Henry brings a deep understanding of how collaborative, transparent, and community-driven approaches are essential for creating resilient and sustainable digital infrastructure. His work aligns directly with the "Mycelium" philosophy, championing systems that nourish ecosystems, foster interdependence, and prioritize long-term stewardship over extractive models.