France, Germany, Austria and Denmark are replacing Microsoft and Zoom tools with domestic and open source systems to protect sensitive data and reduce reliance on U.S. vendors.
European governments are accelerating a structural shift away from U.S. Big Tech, replacing proprietary platforms with domestic and open-source software to secure public data, avoid vendor lock-in and strengthen digital sovereignty.
France is leading the move at scale. By 2027, 2.5 million civil servants will stop using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and GoTo Meeting and migrate to Visio, a homegrown video conferencing service. The official objective is “to put an end to the use of non-European solutions, to guarantee the security and confidentiality of public electronic communications by relying on a powerful and sovereign tool,” the government said.
Civil Service Minister David Amiel added: “We cannot risk having our scientific exchanges, our sensitive data, and our strategic innovations exposed to non-European actors.”
Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein state has migrated 44,000 inboxes from Microsoft, replaced SharePoint with Nextcloud (open source), and is considering Linux, open-source telephony and video systems. Digitalization Minister Dirk Schrödter said: “We want to become independent of large tech companies and ensure digital sovereignty.”
Austria’s military has dropped Microsoft Office for LibreOffice, a move The Document Foundation said “reflects a growing demand for independence from single vendors.” Denmark’s government and cities, and France’s Lyon, are also deploying open-source alternatives.
Momentum is being driven by geopolitical tensions and fears that U.S. firms could cut off services or access. Nick Reiners of Eurasia Group called it a “real zeitgeist shift,” adding that “only Europeans can take decisions so that they can’t be coerced by the U.S.”
Open source is increasingly being treated as state infrastructure — not a cost-saving option, but a national security strategy.
