Harvestable Assets
Existing Microsoft Replacements
Proven implementations of Microsoft alternatives already deployed across European governments. These represent billions of euros of investment that the Cooperative can leverage immediately.
Key Insight: The Cooperative does not need to start from scratch. Multiple European governments have already completed large-scale Microsoft replacements. Their configurations, training materials, migration playbooks, and lessons learned can be shared across all participating jurisdictions.
Scale of Existing Deployments
500,000+
Workstations already migrated from Microsoft
€100M+
Annual savings documented
20+
Years of production experience
10+
Countries with major deployments
Major Production Implementations
🇩🇰 Denmark - Ministry of Digital Affairs (2025)
Status: In Progress (Completion: November 2025)
| Microsoft Product | Office 365 |
|---|---|
| Replacement | LibreOffice |
| Scale | Ministry staff; Copenhagen and Aarhus municipalities exploring similar migrations |
| Timeline | June-November 2025 (50% by August, 100% by November) |
| Motivation | "We must never make ourselves so dependent on so few that we can no longer act freely" - Minister Caroline Stage Olsen |
What Can Be Harvested
- Migration playbooks and timelines
- Staff training materials (Danish, adaptable)
- Change management approach
- Political/ministerial briefing templates
Source: Computing.co.uk, The Record
🇩🇪 Germany: Schleswig-Holstein (2024-2025)
Status: 80% Complete - Europe's Most Comprehensive Migration
| Microsoft Products | Windows, Office, Exchange, Outlook, SharePoint, Teams |
|---|---|
| Replacements |
|
| Scale | 30,000 PCs (civil servants, police, judiciary) + 30,000 teachers |
| Email Migration | 40,000+ accounts, 100+ million emails migrated from Exchange |
| Savings | €15 million/year in licence costs; €9M one-time investment for 2026 |
| International Interest | "We've had interest from Denmark, the UK, France, New Zealand, India, Switzerland and Austria" |
What Can Be Harvested
- Complete migration playbook covering all Microsoft products
- Open-Xchange configuration for government email/calendar
- Nextcloud deployment patterns for file sharing
- Jitsi/OpenTalk video conferencing setup
- Email migration tools and procedures (100M+ emails)
- User training programmes
- Cost-benefit analysis templates
- Political briefing materials
Sources: The Register, It's FOSS, Raconteur
🇫🇷 France: Gendarmerie Nationale - GendBuntu (2005-Present)
Status: Complete - World's Largest Government Linux Desktop Deployment
| Microsoft Products | Windows XP/Vista, Microsoft Office |
|---|---|
| Replacements |
|
| Scale | 103,000+ workstations (97% of all Gendarmerie PCs) |
| Timeline | Started 2005, 65,000 by 2014, 103,000+ by 2024 |
| Savings |
€50 million saved since 2004 70% reduction in IT budget 40% lower total cost of ownership |
| Key Success Factor | "Almost no additional training was required... The Ubuntu user interface was easy to get used to" |
What Can Be Harvested
- 20 years of operational experience
- Large-scale Linux desktop deployment patterns
- Hardware procurement without OS (90% of new PCs)
- Custom Ubuntu distribution methodology
- Security hardening for law enforcement
- Training approach that minimised retraining needs
- Upgrade path management (currently on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS)
Sources: Wikipedia, EU OS Use Cases, Medium
🇮🇹 Italy: Ministry of Defence + Regions (2015-Present)
Status: Complete - Europe's Second Largest LibreOffice Deployment
| Microsoft Product | Microsoft Office |
|---|---|
| Replacement | LibreOffice + ODF format |
| Scale |
Ministry of Defence: 150,000 PCs Regions/Provinces: • Emilia Romagna: 3,500 PCs • Umbria: 5,000 users • Trento: 4,000 PCs • Bolzano: 6,000 PCs • Bologna: 3,000 PCs • Perugia: 1,200 PCs • Others: Cremona, Macerata |
| Legal Framework | 2014 procurement law requires consideration of open source first |
| 2025 Targets | 125 administrations releasing open source; 2,800 entities re-using |
What Can Be Harvested
- Developers Italia - public software catalogue
- LibreItalia Association expertise and training
- Military-grade LibreOffice deployment patterns
- Legal framework for mandating open source consideration
- Regional deployment templates (multiple scales)
- Change management for "resistance to change" challenges
Sources: Computer Weekly, Interoperable Europe
🇪🇸 Spain: Extremadura (LinEx) + Andalusia (Guadalinex) (2002-Present)
Status: Complete - Pioneers of Government Linux in Europe
| Microsoft Products | Windows, Microsoft Office |
|---|---|
| Replacements |
gnuLinEx (Extremadura) - Debian-based Guadalinex (Andalusia) - Debian/Ubuntu-based LinGobEx (Extremadura government) Lingobex (Extremadura healthcare) |
| Scale |
Extremadura: 70,000+ PCs in schools, 10,000 in healthcare Andalusia: 100,000+ PCs in schools, libraries, public centres |
| Cost Comparison | Windows licensing would have cost €20M+; LinEx total cost ~€190,000 |
| Other Regions | Galicia (Mancomún), Cataluña, Castilla La Mancha, Madrid, Valencia |
What Can Be Harvested
- 23+ years of experience (started 2002)
- Regional Linux distribution methodology
- Education sector deployment at massive scale
- Healthcare-specific Linux configuration
- Cross-regional collaboration model (LinEx + Guadalinex partnership)
- Cost-benefit analysis for developing regions
Sources: CIO, Interoperable Europe
🇩🇪 Germany: Munich LiMux (2004-2017, Revival 2020+)
Status: Lessons Learned - Critical Case Study
| Microsoft Products | Windows, Microsoft Office |
|---|---|
| Replacement | LiMux (Ubuntu-based), LibreOffice |
| Scale | 15,500 desktops (12,600 migrated by 2012) |
| Savings | €11.7 million (US$16 million) |
| Reversal | 2017 political decision to return to Microsoft |
| 2020+ Revival | New administration: "prefer Free Software for future endeavours" |
| 2024 Update | Five-point open-source plan; founded Open Source Program Office |
Critical Lessons Learned
Munich's reversal was political, not technical. The migration was technically successful
and saved millions. The key lessons are about sustaining political support.
- Political support is crucial - Without sustained leadership backing, lobbyists can reverse progress
- Migration is ongoing, not one-time - It's a continuous process, not a "big bang"
- Staff motivation matters - People must feel the project improves their daily work
- "LiMux is not a technical project" - The real issues are change management, not technology
- Break complexity into small tasks - "None of them are unsolvable"
- Adequate training is essential - Insufficient training led to staff discomfort
- Digital sovereignty takes persistence - It's a long-term cultural shift
- Hybrid approaches can bridge gaps - Pragmatic interoperability eases transitions
Sources: Wikipedia, Studio Linux, Interoperable Europe
EU-Level Resources Available
🇪🇺 EU Open Source Observatory (OSOR) & Catalogue
Centralised EU Resources
| Resource | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| EU OSS Catalogue | ~800 open source solutions from 8 national catalogues (launched March 2025) | Interoperable Europe Portal |
| Country Intelligence | Reports on open source policies for all EU Member States | Country Reports |
| Developers Italia (Italy) | Public service software catalogue, APIs, open source | developers.italia.it |
| OS2 (Denmark) | Network of public bodies developing shared open source | os2.eu |
| Adullact (France) | French public sector open source repository | adullact.org |
| X-Road (Finland/Estonia) | Data exchange layer used by multiple countries | x-road.global |
Notable Solutions in EU Catalogue
- Municipio (Sweden) - WordPress-based content management for municipalities
- X-Road (Finland/Estonia) - Secure data exchange between organisations
- Various modular building blocks for government services
Harvestable Assets Summary
| Microsoft Product | Open Source Replacement | Proven Implementations | Total Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Office | LibreOffice | Italy (150K), Schleswig-Holstein (30K), France (103K), Spain (170K+), Denmark | 450,000+ |
| Windows | Ubuntu/Debian Linux | France GendBuntu (103K), Spain LinEx/Guadalinex (170K+), Schleswig-Holstein (30K planned) | 300,000+ |
| Exchange/Outlook | Open-Xchange + Thunderbird | Schleswig-Holstein (40K accounts, 100M emails) | 40,000+ |
| SharePoint | Nextcloud | Schleswig-Holstein, multiple EU governments | 30,000+ |
| Teams | Jitsi / OpenTalk / BigBlueButton | Schleswig-Holstein, Germany federal, France | 30,000+ |
Cooperative Action Items
- Establish formal knowledge-sharing agreements with Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark
- Request access to migration playbooks, training materials, and configuration templates
- Engage with LibreItalia, OS2 (Denmark), and Adullact (France) associations
- Leverage EU OSOR resources and country intelligence reports
- Document Munich lessons learned to avoid political reversal risks
- Create shared repository of harvestable assets for Cooperative members