Switzerland Ditches Microsoft in Favor of Open-Source Software

Switzerland's Federal Administration is trialing a move away from Microsoft services and towards free and open-source software. The study, conducted by the Federal Chancellery, tested various open-source alternatives to Microsoft 365 for document editing, email, calendar, contacts, tasks, file storage, audio and video conferencing, chat, and identity and access management.

The trial found that switching from MS 365 to open-source options did not cause any fundamental problems. The Federal Administration will now launch a follow-up program to make these software available for thousands of employees by the end of 2027. Funding for this project comes from Parliament-approved resources allocated for developing a sovereign Swiss open-source platform for office automation.

This move is part of a broader trend in Europe, where countries are seeking to reduce their reliance on single software ecosystems and promote digital sovereignty. France has already started moving away from Windows in favor of Linux, while the EU encourages teams in the region to adopt open-source software.