Schleswig-Holstein, a state in northern Germany, has announced plans to uninstall Microsoft Teams and replace Microsoft Office across government departments with open-source alternatives. The move reflects a broader shift toward digital independence in Europe, and raises new discussions about sovereignty, privacy, and the future of public sector IT.
The migration, impacting over 30,000 public servants, will begin with phasing out Teams and Office tools within the next three months. By 2026, over 30,000 teachers in the region are also expected to join the transition.
“We’re done with Teams!”
— Dirk Schrödter, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister for Digitalisation,
announcing the full removal of Microsoft software across the entire state government.
LibreOffice, Open-Xchange and Linux
The state will replace Microsoft Word and Excel with LibreOffice, and Microsoft Outlook with Open-Xchange, an open-source platform that supports email, calendar, and collaboration tools. Eventually, Windows will also be replaced with Linux-based desktop systems, and state data will move to a cloud managed internally by the government.
This effort follows similar open-source transitions seen in other parts of Europe, but unlike some past attempts that were reversed due to poor rollout or lack of political support, Schleswig-Holstein says its move is deliberate, long-term, and backed by clear digital sovereignty goals.
Why Move Away from Microsoft?
Officials cite several motivations:
- Cost Savings: Tens of millions of euros in license fees could be saved over time.
- Data Sovereignty: Keeping government data on German servers reduces dependency on U.S.-based cloud services.
- Political Climate: Growing discomfort in Europe over Big Tech monopolies and U.S. surveillance laws underpins the change.
This comes amid renewed EU scrutiny of Microsoft’s business practices, including the bundling of Teams with Office 365, which the European Commission says harms competition.
A Long Road for Open Source
The concept of open-source software—free to use, modify, and distribute—has been around since the early 1980s. GNU/Linux, the most prominent open-source operating system, has long challenged the dominance of proprietary systems like Microsoft Windows.
While open-source tools like Apache, Firefox, Android, and Ubuntu power major parts of the internet and mobile devices, adoption in public institutions has been slow. Past efforts in cities like Munich (Germany) and Vienna (Austria) initially embraced Linux, but later reversed course due to integration issues, poor user training, and political pressure.
Today, those lessons have informed new rollouts: focus on gradual change, user support, and long-term vision.
What It Means Globally
Schleswig-Holstein’s decision could inspire other governments to revisit their IT strategies. France has already invested heavily in open-source tools for public education and military use. Denmark and Finland have also adopted Linux servers in municipal networks.
For small nations like Samoa, a shift of this kind is technically achievable but it would require political will, skilled technical staff, and a strong focus on local data management. The potential for lower long-term costs and greater control over national infrastructure makes it a path worth exploring.
