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**Key Insights from ZDNET:** The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has completed a major technological transition, moving from Microsoft’s Exchange and Outlook platforms to the open-source alternatives Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird for its email and calendar systems. A number of other entities across the European Union have undertaken similar migrations, gravitating toward open-source solutions as part of a wider effort to reduce dependence on large corporate vendors. Crucially, this decision extends far beyond a routine software update; it represents a deliberate political statement about technological autonomy and the desire for digital self-determination.
Over a carefully planned six-month migration period, Schleswig-Holstein replaced Microsoft Exchange and Outlook—cornerstones of its governmental communication—with the community-driven and transparent software solutions Open-Xchange and Thunderbird. This enormous undertaking encompassed more than 40,000 mailboxes and the transfer of in excess of 100 million email messages along with extensive calendar data. According to the state’s Digitalization Minister, Dirk Schrödter, the complex process involved collaboration from all branches of state administration. He announced, with evident pride, that the mission had been accomplished: from ministries and the state chancellery to law enforcement, judiciary, and subsidiary public bodies, roughly 30,000 public employees are now collectively using these open-source platforms. Schrödter emphasized that this leap was about far more than technology—it was about pursuing independence from major technology corporations and securing long-term digital sovereignty for the state and its citizens.
The minister expressed sincere appreciation for the dedication of the teams who made this transition possible. He acknowledged that the preceding months had tested the resilience and technical expertise of all involved, calling the participants pioneers in a project of unprecedented scale. Indeed, few initiatives worldwide have attempted a similar transformation across such a large and diverse governmental infrastructure. Without the employees’ patience, skill, and determination, he said, the success of this monumental changeover would have been unimaginable.
The migration did not occur in isolation; it was the result of several years of strategic planning and policy efforts aimed at gradually eradicating dependency on proprietary systems. Partnering with an ecosystem of open-source providers, including major players like Nextcloud, the state has been progressively implementing open technologies across its digital infrastructure. For instance, as early as the previous year, Schleswig-Holstein began replacing Microsoft Office with LibreOffice as the standard office productivity suite throughout government offices. These steps illustrate a cohesive political and technological philosophy: that open-source software, by its very nature, offers transparency, customizability, and community-driven innovation indispensable for modern governance.
Building on this accomplishment, Minister Schrödter also highlighted how Schleswig-Holstein intends to serve as a model for other public administrations pursuing similar autonomy-oriented reforms. The state’s accumulated knowledge—ranging from data management strategies and cybersecurity practices to data center operations—can now be shared with partners across Germany and the European Union. In his words, Schleswig-Holstein’s success demonstrates that achieving digital independence is both feasible and desirable, setting a precedent for states and institutions seeking greater control over their technological frameworks.
This development aligns with a wider European trend. Governments and agencies across the EU have been steadily stepping away from Microsoft-based environments. Among them are the Austrian military, several Danish public agencies, and the municipal administration of Lyon in France. Their motivations echo Schleswig-Holstein’s: a collective fatigue with unbalanced dependencies on large American technology companies and a growing conviction that sovereignty over data and infrastructure is an essential element of national and economic security.
The rationale behind this direction is articulated in Schleswig-Holstein’s official policy paper, *Open Innovation and Open Source Strategy: Schleswig-Holstein* (April 2025). The document foresees an era in which avoiding one-sided economic and technological dependencies will be vital for any state striving to maintain control over its IT systems and safeguard citizens’ and enterprises’ data. The paper insists that reliance on monopolistic providers poses systemic risks that only independent, open systems can mitigate. It advocates for a deliberate strategy of reducing current dependencies while proactively advancing toward complete digital sovereignty—a state in which local organizations, not external corporations, dictate the terms of technological engagement.
In this vision, open-source software emerges as more than a mere alternative to proprietary products. It is portrayed as a transformative instrument—capable of simultaneously addressing present operational requirements and anticipating future digital evolution. The inherent openness of such software encourages innovation, enables local adaptation, and ensures that no single vendor can unilaterally restrict access or functionality. In short, open-source systems are positioned as indispensable tools for achieving sustainable technological self-governance.
While the term “digital sovereignty” may not carry the same weight in the United States, it has become a cornerstone of technology policy within Europe. The issue transcends the simplistic binary of proprietary versus open-source or expensive versus affordable software. Instead, it reflects a fundamental political concern: the ability of governments and citizens to retain control over their digital environments, their data, and their decision-making processes free from external influence. European policymakers, technologists, and even private enterprises increasingly view dependency on foreign cloud services or corporate infrastructures as a vulnerability—a potential lever for external interference or control.
Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Karsten Wildberger, has succinctly summarized this sentiment, insisting that Germany and the European Union must participate in the global technology sector as active creators and players rather than passive customers of external corporations. This call for engagement emphasizes the necessity of developing European infrastructure, standards, and innovations that can sustain the continent’s independence in an increasingly digitized world.
The conceptual shift toward digital sovereignty did not originate overnight. As early as 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron underscored its importance, declaring that every economic and societal sector required genuinely European solutions to ensure sovereignty. He elevated the concept to a central tenet of his administration’s technology agenda, emphasizing that only through homegrown digital ecosystems could Europe maintain its democratic values, economic competitiveness, and informational autonomy.
Consequently, the movement initiated by Schleswig-Holstein and echoed across multiple European institutions can be understood as part of a long-term structural transformation. The steady adoption of Linux-based operating systems, open-source office suites, and transparent communication platforms is not driven by a niche community’s enthusiasm but by the pragmatic realization that open software architectures are essential to the continent’s digital resilience. The transition signifies a broader redefinition of the relationship between state governance and technology—one in which sovereignty, security, and sustainability are placed above brand loyalty or short-term convenience.
In the coming years, it is therefore entirely reasonable to anticipate that many additional European governments, businesses, and individual users will continue migrating from proprietary ecosystems such as Microsoft Windows to open-source alternatives. This is not idealistic speculation from the open-source community, but rather a reflection of an ongoing geopolitical and technological realignment—a transformation that is fundamentally altering how nations perceive their digital infrastructure and the software tools on which they depend.
Sourse: https://www.zdnet.com/article/german-state-replaces-microsoft-exchange-and-outlook-with-open-source-email/
