swiss federal authorities roll out This is a pilot project where they plan to evaluate the possibility of abandoning Microsoft 365 in favor of open source alternatives. In the first phase, the experiment will involve 3,000 jobs on approximately 54,000 vehicles.
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By the end of 2027, the government plans to migrate about 7% of computers currently running Microsoft 365 to alternative solutions; and this is not the first time that Swiss authorities have tried to move to open source products. In an early proof-of-concept phase, 172 federal government employees tested the German openDesk software package’s ability to process files and e-mail.
There are no plans to completely remove Microsoft 365 from computers – employees will use openDesk in parallel with commonly used software, which will help prevent disruption to work. The goal of the initiative is not so much to abandon Microsoft products as it is to fight for digital sovereignty. Switzerland wants to reduce its reliance on foreign technology companies, especially U.S. tech giants, for key government processes. This is especially true given current geopolitical tensions.
U.S. cloud legislation allows U.S. authorities to access information stored by U.S. cloud providers, including those belonging to the Swiss government. Since Microsoft is an American company, its Microsoft 365 platform is a candidate for replacement.
Not only Switzerland, but other European countries including France and Germany are also turning to open source products. Previously, several European technology companies, under the leadership of local authorities, developed the cloud-based office suite Euro-Office as an alternative to the US products of Microsoft and Google. The French company Mistral AI, which develops Europe’s sovereign artificial intelligence model, recently attracted €3 billion in investment at a valuation of €21 billion – with the largest investor in the latest round being South Korea’s Samsung.
However, Microsoft has no plans to relinquish its position – last year the company announced a $400 million investment in expanding cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence capabilities in Switzerland, with a particular focus on customers from the public sector, financial services and healthcare.
According to Swiss authorities, the project will transfer 3,000 jobs to open source software at a cost of $11.1 million – and is funded as part of initiatives to strengthen digital sovereignty.
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