German State Purges Microsoft: 30,000 Officials Forced Into Digital Exodus

While Big Tech continues its stranglehold on government systems worldwide, one German state just decided it’s had enough. Schleswig-Holstein is kicking Microsoft to the curb, forcing 30,000 public servants to abandon Windows, Office, and the whole Microsoft ecosystem. No more Word. No more Excel. No more Outlook. They’re done.

German state ditches Microsoft entirely—30,000 government workers forced to abandon Windows and Office for open-source alternatives

The exodus starts now, with most Microsoft products getting yanked within three months. Civil servants, cops, judges—they’re all getting new software whether they like it or not. LibreOffice replaces Word and Excel. Open-Xchange handles emails instead of Outlook. Some German messaging tools take over from Teams. Eventually, they’re dumping Windows entirely for Linux.

This isn’t just about switching software. It’s about digital sovereignty, whatever that means. The Germans are paranoid about US tech companies controlling their data. Can’t really blame them. They figure open-source software gives them more control, lets them see what’s actually happening with their information. Plus, they can modify the code however they want. No more begging Microsoft for features. The war in Ukraine exposed how vulnerable Germany is to both energy and digital dependencies, pushing them to act.

The timeline’s aggressive. They started in 2024, and by 2026, every government computer runs on open-source software. That’s 60,000 employees total once they rope in the 30,000 teachers who haven’t switched yet. Imagine the chaos. Decades of muscle memory, gone. Retraining sessions galore.

Money talks, of course. No more licensing fees to Microsoft means more euros staying in Germany. Sure, they’ll spend a fortune on training and migration costs upfront, but long-term? They’re betting on savings. Schleswig-Holstein expects to save tens of millions of euros once the dust settles. Open-source typically costs less over time—no surprise fees, no forced upgrades, no vendor telling you what you can and can’t do.

The Europeans keep harping on about GDPR compliance and protecting EU data from foreign governments. This move fits right into that paranoid worldview. They want their data on their terms, running on software they control. The switch could also dramatically reduce their carbon footprint, given that AI and cloud computing infrastructure from major tech companies contribute significantly to global emissions.

Will it work? Who knows. But Schleswig-Holstein just fired the first shot in what might become a wider European revolt against Big Tech dominance. Microsoft’s probably not losing sleep yet, but if other states follow suit, things could get interesting.