German Government Moves Closer to Ditching Microsoft: "We're Done With Teams!"
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
The long-running battle of Germany's northernmost state, Schleswig-Holstein, to make a complete switch from Microsoft software to open-source alternatives looks close to an end. Many government operatives will permanently wave goodbye to the likes of Teams, Word, Excel, and Outlook in the next three months in a move to ensure independence, sustainability, and security.
Plans to go open-source were drawn up by Schleswig-Holstein as far back as 2017. In 2021, the state found another incentive to make the switch: Windows 11's hardware requirements. A move to LibreOffice and other open-source programs had a deadline of 2026 - there was no date set for ditching Windows at the time.
Last year brought news of a plan by the state to replace Windows with Linux and further expansion of LibreOffice, Open-Xchange, Nextcloud, and the Univention Active Directory (AD).
Now, Digitalisation Minister Dirk Schroedter has announced that "We're done with Teams!"
Question! Why should local governments use taxpayers' money to buy proprietary software from a single vendor? And what happens to citizens' data? A solution is to move to free software like Linux and LibreOffice - which is what Schleswig-Holstein is doing: https://t.co/P7cQJwEP7u pic.twitter.com/OuIHPlSteV
- LibreOffice (@LibreOffice)
Of the state's approximately 60,000 public servants, which includes civil servants, judges, and police officers, around half are transitioning away from Microsoft in this initial phase, with 30,000 more - mostly teachers - doing the same over the next few years.
Schroedter highlighted several reasons for the move. Money is obviously a major factor, with Microsoft's enterprise licensing fees reaching into the millions of euros.
[...] Other public bodies across the world are also moving away from Microsoft's products in favor of open-source or home-grown alternatives, from French police to India's defence ministry, writes France 24. Local governments in Denmark are also looking to ditch the firm.
Munich, the capital of the German state Bavaria, switched from Windows to Linux-based LiMux in 2004, though it switched back in 2017 as part of an IT overhaul. Wanting Microsoft to move its headquarters to Munich likely played a part in the return to Windows, too.
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