German State Fully Adopts Open-Source Email Solutions, Replaces Microsoft Exchange and Outlook
Published
- Major migration: A German state replaced Microsoft Exchange and Outlook with open-source alternatives for its 30,000 government employees.
- Digital sovereignty: The move is a deliberate step toward achieving "digital sovereignty" and reducing dependency on large, single-vendor technology corporations.
- Open-source alternatives: The state has migrated over 40,000 mailboxes to Open-Xchange for the backend and Mozilla Thunderbird for the email client.
The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has completed a six-month migration away from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. The state's 30,000 government employees will now use open-source email solutions, specifically Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird.
This decision is part of a broader strategy to become independent of large tech corporations and maintain control over its IT systems and citizen data. The migration involved transitioning more than 40,000 mailboxes and over 100 million messages and calendar entries.
Scale of the Open-Source Migration
According to Digitalization Minister Dirk Schrödter, the project makes the German state a "true pioneer," as there are few comparable government projects of this magnitude worldwide, in a significant push for digital sovereignty.
"We want to become independent of large tech corporations and ensure digital sovereignty,” said Digitalization Minister Dirk Schrödter. “Now we can also say: Mission accomplished when it comes to email communication." This move started a few months ago.
This transition is not an isolated event; it follows years of planning and is part of a larger initiative to replace proprietary software with open-source solutions across the board.
Last year, the government began replacing Microsoft Office with LibreOffice as its standard office suite, reinforcing its commitment to this strategic direction.
Broader Implications for Microsoft Alternatives
The Schleswig-Holstein open-source migration reflects a growing trend within the European Union, where governments have moved away from American technology, including the Austrian military, Danish agencies, and the city of Lyon in France.
Concerns over data security and vendor lock-in are driving numerous public administrations to explore and adopt Microsoft alternatives.
This political and technological shift emphasizes a move toward systems that offer greater transparency and control, positioning open-source software as a key tool for achieving governmental autonomy in the digital age.
In other news, the FBI last week started probing an alleged Chinese hacking of U.S. law firms, including Williams & Connolly.
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