Germany’s Northmost State Ditches Microsoft Outlook, Plans to Drop Office Next

Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein has officially ended reliance on Microsoft’s software ecosystem. Not to mention, it’s a major milestone in Europe’s growing digital sovereignty movement.

The state has completed its long-planned migration from Microsoft Exchange Server and Outlook to the open-source alternatives Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird. According to a report by The Register, over 40,000 accounts, alongside over 100 million emails and calendar entries, were migrated in the process.

For years, European governments have voiced concerns about data sovereignty and overreliance on U.S.-based tech giants. Schleswig-Holstein’s government now joins a growing list of European institutions, including Denmark’s public sector, that are saying goodbye to proprietary software in favor of open-source solutions.

The transition is part of a broader initiative to replace Microsoft Office with LibreOffice and SharePoint with Nextcloud. The state is also testing Linux-based desktops to reduce its dependence on Windows entirely.

It’s worth noting that migration wasn’t as smooth as the state would have thought, as reported by the German news outlet, Heise. With France’s national police already running over 100,000 Linux systems via its “GendBuntu” distribution, Germany’s northernmost state is now part of the continent’s collective pivot toward open digital independence.

via: Neowin

Rishaj is a tech writer who has been writing professionally for over four years, with a passion for Android, Windows, and all things tech. He initially joined Windows Report as a tech journalist and is now taking over as a news editor. When he’s not breaking the keyboard, you can find him cooking, or listening to music/podcasts.