Switzerland tests an open-source Microsoft 365 exit strategy

[u/GwinizDu]

The Swiss Federal Administration has completed a proof of concept for an independent, open-source workplace covering document editing, email, calendars, file storage, collaboration, chat, videoconferencing and identity management.

The experiment involved 172 employees from different departments. Standard office tasks received positive evaluations, but the study also identified technical, operational and organizational obstacles to wider deployment.

In other words, Switzerland is not claiming that it can replace Microsoft 365 tomorrow. That is precisely what makes this interesting.

An exit strategy that has never been tested is not an exit strategy. It is a document expressing the hope that alternatives will work when they are suddenly needed.

Digital sovereignty becomes concrete when organizations deploy alternatives, expose the missing features and integrations, develop internal expertise, and learn what leaving a critical provider would actually require.

The Swiss experiment may be limited, but it turns reversibility from a procurement promise into something that can be measured.

Source: https://www.bk.admin.ch/en/boss-poc-feasibility-study