In Germany, Schleswig-Holstein is ending the use of Microsoft Teams and Office: a strategic shift towards digital sovereignty
- barbarela48
- Jun 20
- 3 min read
The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has announced the gradual abandonment of Microsoft tools—Teams, Office, Outlook, Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory, and even Windows—in favor of open-source solutions. This decision affects approximately "30,000 employees" in the administration, including civil servants, police officers, and magistrates, and should be effective within "the next three months."
Dirk Schrödter, Minister for Digitalization, justifies this transformation by a desire for data protection, control over infrastructure, and reducing dependence on a non-European supplier: "Guaranteeing digital sovereignty is at least as important as energy sovereignty."
Project Components: how to remove Microsoft?
This project is structured around six pillars:
Replacement of Microsoft Office with LibreOffice:
LibreOffice is already deployed on all workstations—a total of 30,000—with the goal of reaching "70% of terminals without Office by October 2025."
