German state replaces Microsoft Exchange and Outlook with open-source email

"Mission accomplished. From the State Chancellery and ministries to the judiciary, police, and other state authorities, our roughly 30,000 employees have embarked on a new path together. We want to become independent of large tech corporations and ensure digital sovereignty. Now we can also say: mission accomplished when it comes to email communication."

"The past weeks and months have shown that such a transition is no small feat. We are true pioneers. There is hardly a comparable project of this magnitude worldwide. Our sincere thanks go to all employees. Without their support, this transition would not have been possible."

Schleswig-Holstein migrated its government email and calendar systems from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook to Open-Xchange and Mozilla Thunderbird over six months. The migration covered more than 40,000 mailboxes and over 100 million messages and calendar entries across roughly 30,000 employees in state chancellery, ministries, judiciary, police, and other authorities. The state seeks independence from large tech corporations and greater digital sovereignty, replacing proprietary systems with open-source solutions including LibreOffice and Nextcloud integrations. The transition followed years of planning and extensive employee involvement. The experience will serve as a model for other administrations pursuing open technologies.

Read at ZDNET