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Switzerland is testing an open-source alternative to Microsoft 365
The Swiss Federal Administration is opening a new chapter in its quest for greater digital independence. After completing a feasibility study, the Federal Administration has estimated that it can also provide key office functions with open source software. The next step will be quite concrete. By the end of 2027, around 3,000 employees are expected to use the new sovereign working environment.
This is not a sudden abandonment of Microsoft 365. Quite the opposite. Switzerland has completed the rollout of Microsoft 365 in around 54,000 federal administration workplaces in December 2025. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other Microsoft services will remain its standard. The new project is primarily an attempt to reduce long-term dependence on a single provider and to create an alternative for cases where greater control over software and data is particularly important.
The new environment is based on openDesk, an open source platform developed by the German Center for Digital Sovereignty ZenDiS. Instead of one large software suite, it combines several open source solutions. It uses Collabora Online for document editing, Open-Xchange for email and calendaring, Nextcloud for file storage, OpenProject for project work, Jitsi for video conferencing, Element for chat, and Univention for identity management.
The Swiss authorities want to test whether such a platform can provide email, calendaring, documents, presentations, telephony, and audio and video conferencing without direct dependence on a global cloud provider. The project is also examining the feasibility of a possible future exit strategy from Microsoft 365.
The move coincides with Switzerland's broader open source policy. Federal law requires federal authorities to generally publish software they develop or commission to perform their tasks as open source.
For now, there is no talk of a mass farewell to Microsoft. Switzerland is primarily building a backup technology path and testing whether public administration can retain more control over its infrastructure, software and future decisions when it comes to the most important digital tools.
