German government offices are massively switching from Windows and Microsoft Office to open source software

The government of the Schleswig-Goldstein region in northern Germany decided to switch from Windows to Linux and from MS Office to LibreOffice. This was reported on April 4, 2024 by WebProNews.

The decision on the transition was made based on the results of a pilot project that lasted two and a half years. The changes will affect 30 thousand computers. These are all computers of civil servants, including teachers' workstations in schools.

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The regional government plans to abandon the other, software replacing it with a free one. software To organize work in the new infrastructure, they will be involved, and ON Nextcloud. Open Xchange Thunderbird Instead Active Directory , a directory system based on open source software will be used.

The reason for switching to Linux is the desire to get rid of dependence on one supplier. In addition, the desire for digital sovereignty is indicated as motivation.

Also, the transition to Linux should increase the security of the infrastructure and ensure data privacy. Microsoft software does not meet the latest EU information security standards. Open source software allows you to participate in development to implement functionality and troubleshoot problems. In addition, the transition to open source software saves budget funds.

It is expected that the region's IT team will take into account the results of the pilot project, as well as the problems encountered when switching to Linux computers in Munich. The transition will be made gradually, at the first stage it is planned to move from MS Office to Libre Office. The transition process should be completed by 2027. Part of this time is planned to be spent not only on installing software on computers, but also on training officials to work with it.^[1]

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