Switzerland Ditches Microsoft 365 for Open-Source Digital Workplace

The Swiss federal administration is taking steps to reduce its dependence on Microsoft 365 by developing an open-source digital workplace. The initiative, which will provide core office capabilities including email, calendars, and file storage, is part of the country's effort to promote digital sovereignty and resilience.

The program will begin with a pilot phase, expected to cost around CHF 9 million, where approximately 3,000 employees involved in critical business processes will have access to the sovereign platform. The goal is to provide an independent open-source workplace environment alongside Microsoft's cloud productivity suite.

Swiss officials frame this program as a digital sovereignty and resilience project rather than simply a productivity-software migration. They want federal agencies to remain operational during crises, such as service disruptions or geopolitical tensions affecting major cloud providers.