Microsoft officially uninstalled for 2,900,000 people as politician declares 'we're done'
One key state with a population nearing 3,000,000 has made the bold decision to ditch Microsoft altogether, abandoning all of the Office programs alongside the Windows operating system in favor of open source alternatives.
If you work in any form of office environment it would be nearly impossible to avoid using a Microsoft product in some capacity. Outside of the ubiquity of Windows as an operating system, many workplaces utilize programs like Word, Excel, and Outlook for emails, and this is especially apparent within government systems.
Being one of the leading companies in the computing world for the past four decades its understandable that Microsoft remains such a key part of what you do on your PC, but one politician has had enough, announcing the immediate move to alternative options.
Where are Microsoft products and services being banned?
As reported by France24, Germany's northernmost state Schleswig-Holstein has now officially banned the use of Microsoft products in its government offices, affecting roughly half of the 60,000 civil service workers, alongside 30,000 teachers in the near future.
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The decision was led by digitization minister Dirk Schroedter, who has called for an end to Microsoft's digital dominance, opting instead of open source alternatives that can be read and modified by the user.
"We're done with Teams!" announced Schroedter, adding that the move will allow workers in Schleswig-Holstein to "take back control" and ensure "digital sovereignty" from now on.
What is replacing the banned Microsoft products?
So far key Microsoft services like the aforementioned Teams, Word, Excel, and Outlook have been banned by the state, and these have been replaced by options like LibreOffice (for Word/Excel) and Open-Xchange (for Outlook).
In the future the plan is to complete the process of abandoning Microsoft by swapping Windows for Linux, but that is understandably a bit more complex than dropping one program and picking another up.
Why has Microsoft been banned in Schleswig-Holstein?
Outside of a general push to better control the programs that are being used in government offices, the link between major US tech companies and the Trump administration has proven to be an additional motivating factor in ditching Microsoft for good.
"The geopolitical developments of the past few months have strengthened interest in the path that we've taken," outlined Schroedter, adding that "the war in Ukraine revealed our energy dependencies, and now we see there are also digital dependencies."
Opting for open source software gives the user complete control over what they're using, how it works, and where it leads to in the future, which is something you can't say for Microsoft products.
Considering the major Microsoft IT outage that affected millions worldwide last year, regaining control and reducing dependancy on one single entity is understandable for a government going forward.
There's also the financial benefit of the move, as Schleswig-Holstein will now forgo any unexpected costs associated with Microsoft licenses, and it could potentially save the state tens of millions of euros over time.