Bern tests open source alongside Microsoft 365

11.09.2026

4 min read

The Federal Chancellery in Bern launched a follow-up program on 2 September 2026 after a feasibility study. Around 3,000 employees working on critical processes are to use the open-source suite openDesk from late 2027. Whether the federal government will then migrate more workplaces remains undecided, as many business applications are closely tied to Microsoft’s architecture.

Key takeaways

The Federal Chancellery is launching a sovereign workplace program. Around 3,000 employees are to use openDesk from late 2027.
The first phase will cost an estimated 9 million Swiss francs. Parliament has approved funding for a Swiss open-source platform.
The suite comes from Germany’s ZenDiS. Collabora, Nextcloud and Open-Xchange share a single interface.
Microsoft 365 will remain available in parallel during the pilot. The federal government will decide on further workplace migrations only after the analysis.

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What is openDesk? openDesk is an office software suite assembled from open-source components for public administrations by Germany’s Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS). It runs in the browser, bringing documents, email, calendars, chat and videoconferencing together in a single interface.

Federal Chancellery considers an open-source workplace feasible

The Federal Chancellery announced on 2 September 2026 that the federal administration’s digital workplace could, in principle, run on open-source software. The Federal Council was briefed on the findings at its meeting that day. The Chancellery is launching a follow-up program based on those results.

Around 3,000 employees from various departments and the Federal Chancellery are to use sovereign workplace software with core office functions from late 2027. The Chancellery will select staff working on particularly critical business processes. This first phase is estimated to cost 9 million Swiss francs.

Funding comes from money Parliament approved for a sovereign Swiss open-source office automation platform. 9 million Swiss francs is just under 10 million euros.

openDesk comes from a German state-owned company

The suite is called openDesk and comes from the Center for Digital Sovereignty, ZenDiS, a publicly owned limited liability company in Germany. The federal government in Bern is adopting an existing product rather than developing its own office software.

Document editing, email, calendars, file storage, projects, a wiki, chat and conferencing share a single browser interface. Collabora Online handles text documents and spreadsheets, Open-Xchange provides email and calendars, and Nextcloud stores files. OpenProject handles project planning, XWiki stores knowledge, Element provides chat, and Nordeck’s version of Jitsi handles videoconferencing. Univention manages identities.

For the proof of concept, the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (BIT) built an environment on the Red Hat OpenShift container platform. It tested three access options: a browser on the standard office client, a full Linux workstation and a virtual Linux client under Microsoft Hyper-V. Offline capability was a separate test criterion.

3,000 employees

planned users of sovereign office software from late 2027, with the first phase costing around 9 million Swiss francs

Federal Chancellery communiqué, 2 September 2026

Proof of concept gives core functions positive ratings, with lower scores for videoconferencing

The PoC BOSS feasibility study asked whether independent open-source office automation could support critical processes during a crisis. It also examined whether leaving Microsoft 365 was even conceivable for the federal administration. The Chancellery’s answer is yes, in principle.

The user acceptance test in the appendices gives clearly positive ratings to core functions such as shared documents and file storage. Videoconferencing and notes score lower. That is the trade-off: organizations seeking to move email and text documents out of the US cloud will find a viable alternative in openDesk. Those expecting large videoconferences as standard will find the weakness in those same reports.

The pilot will run openDesk alongside Microsoft 365. If the US suite fails, a second option remains. The federal government will decide whether to replace the suite entirely only after analyzing the pilot.

Schleswig-Holstein is the neighbor with a head start

The Register lists Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern among the pioneers. Schleswig-Holstein says it uses LibreOffice as standard and Open-Xchange for email, while Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is replacing SharePoint with Nextcloud. By adopting openDesk, Bern is choosing a suite that combines such components.

The Swiss Armed Forces are moving faster, according to The Register. Cyber Command is to replace Microsoft 365 with openDesk by October 2026. That is the military’s own timetable. The 3,000 civilian workplaces remain scheduled for the end of 2027.

In early 2026, Swiss media reported an incident at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in which documents classified as internal were accidentally stored in a Microsoft cloud. The Federal Chancellery, meanwhile, bases its program on sovereignty and the ability to act during a crisis.

What Switzerland’s move changes for the suite

The 3,000 workplaces constitute a pilot rather than a full migration. If this phase fails, Microsoft 365 will remain the standard. If it succeeds, a decision on the remaining workplaces will be due from late 2027.

A German state administration gains a reference point: a second country has tested the same suite from the same supplier through its own proof of concept. Procurement teams can assess availability, offline operation and videoconferencing against the Swiss appendices rather than relying solely on a supplier’s slide.

Which specialized applications depend on Microsoft identities and Teams integration remains unclear. The Chancellery itself identifies the many applications closely tied to Microsoft’s architecture as the greatest challenge. A comprehensive migration hinges on those dependencies. The 3,000-workplace pilot sidesteps them by prioritizing critical processes.

Frequently asked questions

Will the federal government replace Microsoft 365 entirely?

Not during this phase. Around 3,000 employees working on critical processes are to use openDesk from late 2027. Microsoft 365 will remain available in parallel. A decision on the remaining estate will follow the analysis.

How much will the first phase cost?

The Federal Chancellery estimates 9 million Swiss francs, equivalent to around 9.6 million euros. Parliament has approved funding for a sovereign open-source office automation platform.

Who supplies the software?

openDesk comes from Germany’s ZenDiS, a publicly owned limited liability company. Collabora, Nextcloud, Open-Xchange and other open-source products share a single interface. BIT ran the PoC on Red Hat OpenShift.