Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.
Concerns over data security are also front and center in the Minister-President’s statement, especially data that may make its way to other countries. Back in 2021, when the transition plans were first being drawn up, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 were also mentioned as a reason to move away from Microsoft.
Saunders noted that “the reasons for switching to Linux and LibreOffice are different today. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission’s use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies.”
Hey, can you hear that? That’s the sound of hundreds of IT support workers silently crying out at the thought of having to explain a whole new OS and new office software to some boomer.
I am one of the sysadmins that will have to deal with the Fallout of this. I dont worry to much about the desktop side of things, Users can offen adapt well enough to clicking a different icon to do the same task. What worries me is moving away from Exchange and Microsoft AD, these systems include a lot of features we take for granted and will likely be missed.
