● Covered by 2 sources · 2 reportsMedium impact2 neutral
Swiss Federal Government Pilots Open Source Replacement for Microsoft 365 on 3,000 Workstations
Key points
- Swiss federal government pilots open-source software for 3,000 workstations.
- Migration targets completion by end of 2027.
- Driven by digital sovereignty, cost, and vendor dependency concerns.
- Swiss military is also migrating to openDesk by October 2026.
- Swiss Federal Chancellery and Swiss Armed Forces are replacing Microsoft 365 with openDesk.
- The move protects Swiss data from American surveillance.
- The open-source platform will run in parallel with Microsoft 365.
- The platform will serve 3,000 of 47,000 federal employees.
Pilot Program for Open Source Adoption
The Swiss federal government has initiated a pilot program to transition 3,000 workstations, approximately 7% of its federal workforce, from Microsoft 365 to open-source alternatives. The Federal Chancellery is investing CHF 9 million in this rollout, with a goal to complete the migration by the end of 2027. This pilot phase will run the new system in parallel with Microsoft 365.
Background and Motivation
This move follows a successful proof-of-concept (PoC BOSS) conducted with 172 federal employees, which positively assessed core office tasks using the openDesk suite, a German open-source collaboration platform. The migration is driven by concerns over digital sovereignty, specifically the risk of foreign access to Swiss government data under US cloud legislation, service continuity risks due to reliance on a single foreign vendor, and escalating proprietary licensing costs.
The EMBAG Law, enacted in 2024, also mandates Swiss federal agencies to publish government-developed software as open source by default, further promoting digital sovereignty.
Military's Accelerated Migration
Switzerland's military cybersecurity unit, Cyber Command, is undertaking a separate, faster migration. It plans to replace Microsoft 365 entirely with openDesk by October 2026. This accelerated timeline is also motivated by the need to prevent foreign governments from accessing sensitive Swiss military data.
Potential for Broader Rollout
Should the pilot program prove successful, there is a possibility that the migration could extend to all 54,000 workstations across federal administrations. This broader adoption would further solidify the government's commitment to open-source solutions and digital independence.
Updates
- Swiss Federal Chancellery and Swiss Armed Forces are replacing Microsoft 365 with openDesk.
- The move protects Swiss data from American surveillance.
- The open-source platform will run in parallel with Microsoft 365.
- The platform will serve 3,000 of 47,000 federal employees.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
Two Swiss government groups, the Federal Chancellery and the Swiss Armed Forces, are replacing Microsoft 365 with openDesk, an open-source platform. This move aims to establish digital sovereignty and crisis resilience by reducing reliance on foreign software for sensitive data and critical functions.
Switzerland's federal government is piloting the replacement of Microsoft 365 with open-source alternatives on 3,000 workstations, representing 7% of its workforce, with a target completion by late 2027. This initiative follows a successful proof-of-concept and a new digital sovereignty law, aiming to mitigate risks associated with foreign data access, vendor lock-in, and rising proprietary software costs.