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Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

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Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#131

Post by lukan »

hermanzegerman wrote: post #122
lukan wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you worked in government services and know what their needs are? I did not, but as far as I know, they require a bit more more than some office solution, shared drive and some email client. (How do you imagine how it works internally if you apply for a new passport, they just send some office documents via email around?)

In what way do they need Microsoft Software or Technology except maybe Windows for their Passport Application? That's special software developed for one customer only anyways. So it's perfectly possible to target another Platform or do this as some kind of WebApp. And until then run some Windows Desktops for those special applications/services

"So it's perfectly possible to target another Platform or do this as some kind of WebApp."

Yes, it is possible to rewrite software. But currently most of that software was written and licenced for windows.

Just choosing another plattform might, or might not work. And if it doesn't, many people will be angry for not getting tax refunds back, or getting a new passport, or being able to register a new car etc.

Bugs are real. And there is a saying, never change a running system.

So yes, I do agree that the system is not running so well being dependant on Trump and change is required, but this is not just some webapp for fun that needs replacement. We are talking about critical government services, with lots of custom made software, that was often exclusivly written for windows.

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#132

Post by lpcvoid »

lukan wrote: post #120
lpcvoid wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's Nextcloud/OCIS/Owncloud for Sharepoint (god I fucking hate Sharepoint) and Onedrive, there's Libreoffice/Collabora (and Onlyoffice, but that's russian...), there's Thunderbird for Email. Windows is absolutely replaceable also, of course, maybe even easier than the Office365 subscription mentioned above. The lock in only exists in brains of (old) people that can't adapt. MS products can all be replaced, and sh…

Have you worked in government services and know what their needs are? I did not, but as far as I know, they require a bit more more than some office solution, shared drive and some email client. (How do you imagine how it works internally if you apply for a new passport, they just send some office documents via email around?)

I have worked in (German) Government, and apart from complacency (and maybe corruption, see Limux) there's nothing stopping the German government (at least at federal level) from adopting open source.

If processes depend on some crappy excel table (created by somebody 20 years ago) or even worse, sharepoint app (commissioned by people who shouldn't be deciding things like this), the processes suck and need to be rebuilt anyhow.

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#133

Post by voxleone »

I think an important point in this discussion is that adopting FOSS requires a level of institutional openness that is not typical of governments in general. It’s not just a question of switching vendors; it’s about embracing transparency, auditability, and shared ownership of public infrastructure. The question is: are governments fully aware of what FOSS adoption actually implies?

Brazil is an interesting case. On paper, we have a strong legal mandate. Under Art. 16 of Lei 14.063/2020[0], information and communication systems developed exclusively by public bodies must be governed by an open-source license, allowing use, copying, modification, and distribution without restriction by other public entities.

However, implementation tells a different story. Take PIX, the instant payment system developed by the Brazilian Central Bank. As of today, only the API is open. The core system code remains unpublished[1]. If the system was developed exclusively by the public administration, this seems difficult to reconcile with the letter - and certainly the spirit - of the law.

So the issue is not only whether governments should reduce vendor lock-in. It’s whether they are prepared to follow through on what real openness demands once they commit to it.

[0] https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2019-2022/2020/Lei... [1] https://d1gesto.blogspot.com/2025/06/brazils-pix-system-face...

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#134

Post by mastermage »

piokoch wrote: post #118
bradley13 wrote: post #80

That's great, but it's always just one agency, or one very local bit of government. If we (Europeans) really mean it - and we should - the top level of government just needs to make the declaration: as of X, all Microsoft licenses will be terminated. No exceptions. Adapt or die. According to the CLOUD act, the US government can demand access to data from US companies, regardless of where that data is stored. That mus…

"all Microsoft licenses will be terminated" Ok, and what will be the alternative? I am not talking about the easy part, like documents creation, although I don't see walking away from Excel as LibreOffice alternative is a bit of disappointment. But what about the whole security/networking/permissions area? What is the viable alternative that can scale? Remember Covid times? In Poland all schools got access to Office…

Also the IT Administrators that may be skilled in Windows Server and similar but less so in Linux. Thats something that beeds to be taken into account. Can be changed they can learn new things, but that takes time.

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#135

Post by Jolter »

m000 wrote: post #124
Gigachad wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has drop in replacements for most of it. But that doesn’t solve the problem of using US tech.

France have already developed their own (recently posted here) [1][2]. Also, the "there's no drop in replacement" line is just making up excuses for not acting. Yes, you will not get 100% of the Office 365 features out of the box. There will be some friction. It's simply ridiculous seeing EU bureaucracy preparing e.g. to ban russian oil [3], making life more expensive for all people, and balking on being forced to sw…

Good luck convincing the government (or local councils) of Bulgaria to migrate to an office suite that’s available in French or English only.

That’s beside the sibling comment’s point that this suite is not complete enough (yet).

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#136

Post by hermanzegerman »

deanc wrote: post #76
Mashimo wrote: post #15

I work in software development for Danish hospitals, and some regions already used OpenOffice, now libre office, for .. well over 15 years. At least in parts. We integrate with an API into libreoffice, and it more or less did not change in well over a decade. But sometimes libreoffice crashes and you can't figure out why. There are just no logs. It feels like a black box at times. But I don't think they will be switc…

I think if we're to move to away from these US products to open source ones, then governments should also provide resources or funding to develop them using the licensing fees they save. Is the Danish government contributing back to libreoffice?

The German State of Schleswig Holstein does

https://euro-stack.com/blog/2025/3/schleswig-holstein-open-s...

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#137

Post by mijoharas »

lnsru wrote: post #104
hermanzegerman wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the State of Schleswig Holstein is ditching Microsoft completely. But it's a difficult political uphill battle, because some Users won't change their habits and cry about it. The Minister shut this up with "Software is a decision by the employer, the employee has to accept it" Which then got blown up by the tabloid media, which ran BS Headlines like "OMG Courts and Police not working (because they're childish an…

You’re absolutely right. The benefit of being US independent has no value in the eyes of the large part of European population. The politician fighting for it is fighting uphill battle against mega corporation with endless lobbying budget and simultaneously digging a grave for the political career.

> The benefit of being US independent has no value in the eyes of the large part of European population

I think this may have changed a bit within the last year or so...

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#138

Post by lukan »

m000 wrote: post #124
Gigachad wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has drop in replacements for most of it. But that doesn’t solve the problem of using US tech.

France have already developed their own (recently posted here) [1][2]. Also, the "there's no drop in replacement" line is just making up excuses for not acting. Yes, you will not get 100% of the Office 365 features out of the box. There will be some friction. It's simply ridiculous seeing EU bureaucracy preparing e.g. to ban russian oil [3], making life more expensive for all people, and balking on being forced to sw…

"Also, the "there's no drop in replacement" line is just making up excuses for not acting"

If you claim, that this is my position, please read at least one more sentence

"So yes, one can (and should) build them. "

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#139

Post by graemep »

quietbritishjim wrote: post #96
Izmaki wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The “that’s nice but Denmark is small” comment is getting tiresome. Whether the country had 6 million or 60 million the bureaucracy is the same. It’s not about the size or the economics, it’s about the message. It won’t be long until the rest of the public sectors follow along. There has already been plenty of consideration and desire to follow through. What’s holding them back typically is not the desire to stay wit…

> The “that’s nice but Denmark is small” comment is getting tiresome. The parent comment didn't complain that Denmark or its overall government is small. They complained that this agency represents a small fraction of their government.

Quite a lot of small bits on Denmark are moving towards this, but its still not every much in a country that is one of the most strongly motivated to not depend on the US (because of Greenland).

Re: Danish government agency to ditch Microsoft software (2025)

#140

Post by ddtaylor »

I mean they should be using open source software for this type of stuff, but every time I see these announcements they are either worded strangely or the governments just don't do it, because the end result is always the same.

Can we do a Polymarket bet? I'm taking the Microsoft side. Yeah they suck. Yup, nothing new there, but they'll find a way to keep all these dolts paying.

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