they will save 188,000 € on Microsoft license fees per year
This is the sort of adoption we need to bring Linux into the mainstream
public services of an entire german state switches from Microsoft to open source (Libreoffice, Linux, Nextcloud, Thunderbird)
Submitted 3 weeks ago by not_IO@lemmy.blahaj.zone to technology@lemmy.world
https://euro-stack.com/blog/2025/3/schleswig-holstein-open-source-digital-sovereignty
Comments
innermachine@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
finitebanjo@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This and software companies openly supporting Linux. For example, if Adobe and AutoCAD among others would build some tars then you could see it.
Ironically, Game Engines are ahead of the curve on this. You could build Unreal Engine from the github page on Linux for many years now and we also have Godot and Blender. I think several PCB design and also architecture tools already exist on Linux as well, so there is definitely room for a lot of industries and businesses to shift away from Windows as long as they can find a competent tech guy to maintain everything with minimal downtime.
barsoap@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Blender got ported to Linux in 1998, to Windows in 1999. The modal interface and key command language is no accident, it literally is a 3d vi.
Linux is generally strong when it comes to 3d graphics workstations, it inherited IRIX’ market share, plenty of artists around, especially in the film industry, who’d go on a strike if you took away dragging windows with alt+LMB. Graphics, that is, CAD is dominated by Windows as CAD started out as 2d sketch software which ran on cheap DOS machines.
Houdini is also Unix-native and Blender’s only surviving competitor (considered by features, not industry inertia), Maya started out as cross-platform IRIX+Windows.
driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 3 weeks ago
Microsoft blocking email access to the ICJ director may be the best thing to happen for Linux adoption since the SteamDeck. Now every Microsoft lobbyst can be asked what would happen is the US government order Microsoft to block them out of their infrastructure.
Gutek8134@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
It’s gonna be a rough few months for the IT department
Shayeta@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Actually being able to troubleshoot things yourself instead of waiting for a reply from Microsoft support is a godsend.
BassTurd@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Assuming the IT staff isn’t comprised of a bunch of junior techs that only know the Microsoft suite and not the actual inner workings of how email and Linux works.
BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I feel like most of the items aren’t going to be real troubleshooting.
It’s been a good bit since I worked the support desk, but even with generic microsoft updates, most of the ‘questions’ were basically the worst users finding a way to say ‘It used to be this and I want it to be this way, hold my hand for an hour while telling me its not this way anymore until I get tired and then complain to someone else’.
daw@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Imagine them switching to Linux and suddenly shit works
jjlinux@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Lol, I was thinking the same thing. “plug it in, OK, done”. No drivers and none of that shit.
ConstantPain@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Just wait for Microsoft to start astroturfing the initiative.
kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Embrace, extend, extinguish will accelerate.
MITM0@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What makes you think FOSS cannot use the sane strat ?
gamer@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Didn’t the Trump admin suspend enforcement of foreign anti-bribery laws? Microsoft just has to write a check to the right person to kill this.
Tuuktuuk@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
Breaking anti-bribery laws of a country is illegal, no matter whether they are enforced in some other country or not. Of course Microsoft can break the law and then keep paying large fines until they decide to no longer break the law.
harsh3466@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Let’s hope it sticks when Microsoft backs up the money truck.
TheLastOfHisName@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It would be nice to see the European governments start a genuine effort on funding open source development, and start laying the foundation for a migration to their own Linux distro. Microsoft isn’t trustworthy. Hell, most American big tech is untrustworthy. Moving your government offices to an in house developed OS is going to be paramount for their security in the future.
bonnashejve@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
Agree. Fb, Whatsapp, Instagram, Linkedin, Quora, Twitter, Tumblr - I do believe that social networks should be independent and decentralized and not manipulated by one person - thats why Lemmy, Mastodon is the best choice for me
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
I hate it so much that Whatsapp made itself a social media
Mwa@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
from what i know Germany already does this
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Germany has done this multiple times before. Microsoft has historically swept in with some sweetheart deal to lure them back.
Hopefully it sticks this time.
supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 3 weeks ago
Hard to catch fish if you see the fish as dumb idiots, for some reason the fish don’t seem to respond well to it idk.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
The German IT fish keep coming back for the bait - never bothering to avoid the hook.
gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I switched to Thunderbird about a year and a half ago.
Last week I had to help a coworker with their Outlook and holy shit is it so much worse than when I dropped it. There is so much AI garbage in every little thing and bad design getting in the way of just sending and receiving emails.
Same thing for the other office products
based_raven@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
It’s horrendous. Can’t even explain how bad it is now.
maniclucky@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yup. I switched to linux on my home computer and now the more time I spend with it, the more I pity my work computer for the cancer it has to deal with.
noirnws@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I have an Outlook account from when I decided to use it specifically to receive and interact with clients as a freelance artist.
My freelance gig didn’t launch, so I kinda forgot about it. This week I remembered that account and logged on… Only to find the most disgusting interface a user has ever seen! There are (almost) no shortcuts, not a gram of intuitiveness to be found…
Horrible horrible platform
RaptorBenn@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Holy fuck, that’s the clearest sign for war prepararion ive seen from Europe yet, they don’t want the US in their computers.
spongeborgcubepants@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This has been planned for quite some time, so not really.
Also, other states insist on using Palantir so there’s that…
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
I have seen this happen before, for a while, then somehow M$ convinced them to switch back.
sockenklaus@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
In other news: the German military partners with Google to provide the software for their new cloud service…
Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Don’t worry. They’ll get a big discount on licenses and swap right back again.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
At that scale it starts to be about the cost of support, and if M$ will hold their hands for the installation, configuration and maintenance, at some point that costs the state more to provide for Linux than the M$ licenses…
RaptorBenn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I dunno, free’s still a lot cheaper, once it’s setup, it’ll be so much more flexible, it’ll hardly be worth going back.
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
A small part of Germany, but maybe
RaptorBenn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hopefully it sets an example and path for others to follow.
bonnashejve@europe.pub 2 weeks ago
very interesting observation… I came to conclusion if USA withdraw from NATO - EU and Great Britain will not send military troops to Poland in case russian invasion
zqps@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I think you may have the thread confused.
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
LibreOffice is a great alternative for 99% of people, but there is that 1% of people who is gonna be disappointment. This is a great step though.
msage@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Same goes for any software.
I don’t understand why people act like Windows is the holy grail of computing.
It sucks, it barely works for 90% of users, and the rest will use anything else.
Just as Linux will work for 98% of people, and those last ones are due to handful of evil companies.
gamer@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
The problem is education. People know how to use Windows/Microsoft products, and are too lazy to learn anything else. Saying “that other thing sucks” is easier than admitting “Idk how to use that other thing, and I’m too lazy to learn”, especially in a corporate environment where you can’t climb ladders by acknowledging your own shortcomings.
Get LibreOffice/Nextcloud/etc into schools, and the problem will be solved in a single generation.
lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
People bitch and moan every time MS Office apps are updated, too; I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard coworkers complain. TBF though, I refuse to use “New” Outlook on my work laptop - I tried it once and it was worse in every way.
purplemonkeymad@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
Hey it’s getting better! They recently worked hard for months to add the very niche and almost never used feature of adding a shared mailbox’s folder to your favourites! I mean, with features like that you should expect the dev time to be long.
Lv_InSaNe_vL@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In October they are forcing everyone to new outlook too! I can’t wait to have a shittier interface with less functionality!
network_switch@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
For me the trouble has always been interactions with other people. It’s way better than 10 years ago. Just LibreOffices ribbon interface looks so much better today than 5 years ago. File compatibility is just going to be a continued growing pain until LibreOffice hits a major marketshare
Landless2029@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
ODF master race?
0x0@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I.wouldn’t be so sure, the world runs on M$ spreadsheets and their shenanigans.
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
Yes I am aware, I see some of the most advanced spreadsheets considering I work as accountant, but a lot of the sheets people make can be replaced with better stuff or are just very basis entries which Libreoffice can do fine.
Missing the formatted as tables is probably it’s biggest issue
Landless2029@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I just switched to Linux and got a new win11 laptop for my wife.
Had to install a old HP Laser MFC (going to switch to brother when I run out of toner).
It just worked on Linux mint. Auto installed. Printing and scanning.
On win10 worked automatically. Printing and scanning.
On Win 11 it installed with a generic driver and printed fine but not scanning. Had to get the win10 driver from the site… WTH.Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
My Brother printer worked way better on W11 then W10, but I disliked W10 more than I dislike W11
JigglySackles@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
The only thing preventing me from full adoption in it is the lack of being able to convert to table like in excel. I’ve moved to it for my word processing. But I can’t shake excel because I use that feature almost every time I use the program.
After that i just need to find replacements for OneNote and OneDrive and I’ll finally be free.
eodur@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
You can do that in LibreOffice. Its just a few more clicks than in Excel. Its such a common feature they should really make it clearer. I think the feature is “Database Ranges”
BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Replace OneDrive with a NAS. You can roll your own with something like OpenMediaVault.
Replace OneNote with Obsidian. It’s not FOSS, but it’s free and cross platform.
lostbit@feddit.nl 3 weeks ago
188K doesnt sound much
HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Some localities in Germany have been incorporating Linux into their systems for 20+ years.
That may explain why the financial benefits seem low.
exchange12rocks@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Certainly not this one: 6 EUR/user/year doesn’t cover even Windows
midori_matcha@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
A cost worth cutting nonetheless
Madagaskar_sky@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think the big money is in support contracts.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
Small state.
lazynooblet@lazysoci.al 3 weeks ago
If the trend continues then maybe the hacker community will start focusing on Linux. Can you imagine “I don’t need a virus scanner, I use Windows, the under dog OS”
tempest@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
The hacker community it’s very focused on Linux since most servers in the world run it. The fly by night script kiddies and botnet creators definitely prefer end user systems though.
Tja@programming.dev 3 weeks ago
This right here. Linux security is so good that the easiest way to break in is via Phishing someone with a windows laptop.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
The easiest hacks use social engineering. Much more social to exploit in the end-user arena.
BoycottPro@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
I sometimes wonder what if everyone who spends money on licensing fees instead takes the same amount of money and puts it into FOSS. Imagine what we could achieve? Likely the money would be used more efficiently because they could donate it to non-profit companies which don’t need to pay tax.
RejZoR@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
I can’t see a reason why Linux distro wouldn’t be enough for 99% of office machines. Unless deployment is really that much better and easier with Windows and MS Office. And whatever proprietary apps they use that need running on certain OS.
redditor_chatter44@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Would love to see further movements towards foss software in many other governments
atlien51@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
LETS GOOOOO
RealM__@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I admire the plan, but I doubt the public sector is going to completely acclimate to Linux. The average age of an employee in the public sector is something like 40+.
You might get lucky and get them to use one new program like LibreOffice, but there’s no way you’re going to completely revamp every desktop PC to Linux. I work in this field, and while everyone has been nice and friendly, they (and the entire system around them) are also hugely resistant to digital change. If they ever make the move to a Linux Desktop environment, the IT support will go through hell.
skvlp@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
This is great! I hope it succeeds, and shows others that it is possible.
raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
That sounds like a ridiculously lowballed amount. Also, working with open source tools should increase productivity and decrease brainrot among workers in the public sector. Using Microshit kills brain cells. Not even joking, I actually think it makes users fucking dumb.
yournamehere@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
it is just step 1
we will get rid of all closed source shit.
weak bavarians failed after successfull transistion to “LiMux” (their linux fork) they got bribed with 8k M$ jobs in munich.
but not the state of schleswig-holstein! we will prevail.
seven_phone@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Lie to me once Microsoft shame on you, lie to me twice shame on me.
neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
That is such a crazy amount of money on license fees, especially when you consider that there are mostly free alternatives. I am always choosing foss options as I build my small business.
Right now, I am using onedrive, and Microsoft for my business email. Which I think comes out to like $5 a month.
My understanding is that for reliable email, you need to host with microsoft or google otherwise you are more likely to get sorted into junk mail. If that is incorrect, please let me know.
BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I prefer Evolution over Thunderbird, personally. But to be fair, there aren’t any mail clients for Linux that I genuinely would say I like. I’m always open to suggestions, though.
Cenzorrll@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I’m not seeing nextcloud mentioned in the article. If they are moving to nextcloud, I wish them the best. It’s great for my personal use, but from my experience it’s lacking in what I would expect in a work environment. With a government entity coming to use them, it would be fantastic to see some improvements on them because they’re almost there.
Wolf@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
I’m more surprised that a city in Germany didn’t switch to Linux a decade or more ago.
Late to the party is still showing up, good for them.
rottingleaf@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think they have already switched and went back at some point?
sommerset@thelemmy.club 3 weeks ago
Unfortunately nextcloud sucks
toastmeister@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
An interesting fact about Europe is they disobeys their own procurement laws to choose Microsoft software, whether its corruption or what I’ve got no idea, I assume so though.
thickertoofan@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Good, amazing but I’m not a linux fanboy who will feel giddy for this. My friends would definitely press me over this. But yeah I’m happy
Buffalox@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Fingers crossed that this will be an indisputable success.
Allegedly a similar project in Munich went really really well, but was shut down when the right wing came into power.
For some reason the right wing of Munich doesn’t like freedom. 🙄
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
…and when M$ moved their headquarters into the city of Munich, making some nice impact on the city treasury.
Buffalox@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They had already moved it, so Munich didn’t have to switch back for that.
But yes I bet it was a factor as in corruption.
lowleekun@ani.social 3 weeks ago
Well there is never enough money for the workers that they need for open source but there is always more than enough money for companies and their consultants ✌️😎
raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Munich racist shitheads (a.k.a. CSU) absolutely do love that sweet “freedom money” a.k.a. bribes though. Corrupt fuckers…
PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Microsoft supports genocide which also makes them attractive to fascists.
tja@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
The German Microsoft headquarters are in Munich.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
I thought this was the bribe?
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Can you imagine the moaning?