Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s northernmost state, has been doing something most IT managers would consider impossible: ripping out Microsoft across 30,000 government workstations and replacing it with open-source alternatives.
As of early 2026, the migration is 80% complete. LibreOffice is installed on all 30,000 machines. Over 40,000 email accounts and more than 100 million emails and calendar entries have been migrated from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook to Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird. The state government described it as a “milestone for digital sovereignty.”
They are also saving over 15 million euros per year in licence costs. That number alone should get the attention of anyone who has ever sat through a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement renewal.
What Replaced What
The migration is methodical. Each component of the Microsoft stack has been replaced with a specific open-source alternative:
- Microsoft Office replaced by LibreOffice (80% migration complete, targeting full removal)
- Microsoft Exchange + Outlook replaced by Open-Xchange + Thunderbird (40,000 accounts migrated)
- SharePoint being replaced by Nextcloud (in progress)
- Windows moving to Linux (desktop migration underway, following the application layer)
The approach is smart: migrate the applications first, then the operating system. Users get comfortable with LibreOffice and Thunderbird on Windows before the desktop itself changes. By the time Linux arrives, the daily workflow applications are already familiar.
Why Schleswig-Holstein Did It
The official motivation is digital sovereignty. The state government wants control over its own IT infrastructure and data, without dependency on a single vendor headquartered in a foreign jurisdiction.
But there is a practical argument that is just as compelling: cost.
The one-time migration investment is around 9 million euros. The annual saving is over 15 million euros. That means the project pays for itself in under eight months. Every year after that is pure saving.
Compare that to a typical Microsoft EA renewal, where costs go up and the conversation is about which premium SKU you need this time. Schleswig-Holstein stepped off that treadmill entirely.
The Objections and How They Were Handled
Anyone who has proposed moving away from Microsoft in an enterprise setting knows the objections by heart. “Users will not accept it.” “It will not be compatible.” “We will lose productivity.”
Schleswig-Holstein addressed these systematically:
- Compatibility: LibreOffice handles .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx formats. It is not perfect, but for government document workflows, it is functional. The state standardised on ODF where possible.
- Training: Structured rollout with training programmes for staff. LibreOffice is different from Office 365, but it is not alien. The learning curve is measured in days, not months.
- Email: Open-Xchange provides calendar, contacts, and email with a web interface. Thunderbird for desktop. The functionality gap is smaller than most people assume.
- Edge cases: Some specialist applications still require Windows. These run in virtualised environments rather than blocking the entire migration.
What This Means for the Industry
Schleswig-Holstein is not a small pilot in a minor department. It is an entire state government, with all the complexity that entails. If it works here, the “it cannot work at scale” argument loses its teeth.
Other German states are watching closely. Multiple European governments have cited Schleswig-Holstein as a reference case in their own sovereignty discussions. The combination of sovereignty and cost savings makes a compelling business case that even the most conservative IT committee struggles to dismiss.
For IT professionals, this creates a clear signal. The organisations making these moves need people who can architect, deploy, and support open-source collaboration platforms. Nextcloud administration. Linux desktop deployment. Mail system migration. These are real, funded, in-demand skills.
Try It Yourself
You do not need 30,000 machines to understand how this stack works. A single server, or even a Raspberry Pi, gives you hands-on experience with every component Schleswig-Holstein is using.
- How to Install Nextcloud with Docker sets up the same file sharing and collaboration platform replacing SharePoint across the German state government.
- Nextcloud Docker Setup: Complete Build Guide covers the full production stack including Collabora Online, which provides the in-browser document editing that replaces Office Online.
- Homelab Guides 2026 covers the wider infrastructure, from virtualisation to monitoring, that supports a self-hosted productivity stack.
Fifteen million euros a year in savings. Eighty percent migrated. Sovereignty secured. And every piece of software they are using is something you can install at home. That is not a coincidence. That is an opportunity.
Sources: The Register, The Document Foundation, Cybernews
ReadTheManual is run, written and curated by Eric Lonsdale.
Eric has over 20 years of professional experience in IT infrastructure, cloud architecture, and cybersecurity, but started with PCs long before that.
He built his first machine from parts bought off tables at the local college campus, hoping they worked. He learned on BBC Micros and Atari units in the early 90s, and has built almost every PC he’s used between 1995 and now.
From helpdesk to infrastructure architect, Eric has worked across enterprise datacentres, Azure environments, and security operations. He’s managed teams, trained engineers, and spent two decades solving the problems this site teaches you to solve.
ReadTheManual exists because Eric believes the best way to learn IT is to build things, break things, and actually read the manual. Every guide on this site runs on infrastructure he owns and maintains.
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