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.”
As a helpdesk guy, this type of issue happens with microsoft office just as often. People tend to memorise where the thing they use everyday is, and any update that changes where it is or how it functions “breaks” their flow of doing their task. We as technical people tend to simply have the skills to use a search engine to find out where it moved/how to solve our problem, but they dont.
While I havent been using libreoffice that long or as intensively as a government enployee would so I cant comment on if its the best OSS office suit for this situation, Im just happy they are starting the switch away from microsoft and CSS and finally waking up.