Austrian Ministry Moves Away from Microsoft, Adopts Open Source Alternative Nextcloud
The Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) has announced that it will move away from the American company Microsoft and switch to German-based Nextcloud, which is an open-source software.
Austria's Ministry of Economy takes decisive steps toward digital sovereignty - Nextcloud
Good News! Austrian Ministry Kicks Out Microsoft in Favor of Nextcloud
Nextcloud is a self-hosted, free and open source software that allows you to manage files, synchronize calendars and contacts, and perform video conferencing.
BMWET went from proof of concept to production in just four months with Nextcloud, which is now being used as a replacement for existing Microsoft products. Nextcloud runs on Austrian infrastructure, eliminating the legal and security uncertainties that arise when relying on a non-European provider.
BMWET initially implemented Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, and it was not realistic to completely change course later. Therefore, they decided to implement only Microsoft Teams and replace Microsoft 365 with Nextcloud. Microsoft Teams continues to be available for external meetings. Additionally, they partnered with Nextcloud partner Sendent to integrate Outlook with Nextcloud, creating a system that allows employees to continue working with familiar tools while keeping confidential information within Austria.
BMWT also invested heavily in staff education and made sure to provide training and documentation.
This migration was undertaken after it was discovered that the overseas cloud services that had been used until now did not meet BMWET's privacy requirements.
Also in Austria, the Austrian military is switching from Microsoft Office to the open-source LibreOffice in order to maintain digital sovereignty by storing sensitive military data on its own servers rather than in external clouds accessible to foreign entities.
The Danish government is also replacing Microsoft Office with LibreOffice in order to protect privacy and maintain digital sovereignty.
The German state of Schleswig-Holstein also plans to switch the operating system used by its approximately 30,000 employees from Windows to Linux and from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice.
German government switches 30,000 PCs to Linux and migrates from Microsoft Office to open source LibreOffice - GIGAZINE
The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court is reportedly switching from Microsoft Office to the open-source OpenDesk, following pressure from the US government.
International Criminal Court to phase out Microsoft Office and introduce European open source alternatives - GIGAZINE
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