As early as November 2021, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein announced plans to abandon closed sourceMicrosoftSimilar productsClosed source Microsoft products like Office and Windows migrate to LibreOffice. About two and a half years later, the latest news showsState officials confirmThe migration plan is still in effect. As a result, approximately 30,000 government sector computers will be migrated by around 2027.
Following Germany, Denmark appears to be considering a similar move. Given that Linux developers, including the Document Foundation, are actively encouraging users to choose GNU instead of upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, this move should cause quite a stir.
Denmark’s current Minister of Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage Olsen, revealed to Danish media Politiken that she has plans to phase out Microsoft next month and that she will move the Office 365 product to her own department, more precisely, from Office 365 to LibreOffice.
Discussing the potential challenges of implementing such a rollout, Olson shared a clear backup plan her department had in place: If the new system was initially difficult to implement, they would temporarily revert to their previous setup while they explored other solutions. Overall, she's very firm about her decision, saying, "We can't get any closer if we don't start." The report also adds that her team has responded positively so far.
The minister also added that this initiative does not only involve Microsoft. Rather, it is a step toward reducing overreliance on a small number of suppliers.
The report mentioned that this decision may be related to recent events surrounding the International Criminal Court (ICC). For example, Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, lost access to his Microsoft account. Also relevant is Trump’s keen interest in Greenland, which happens to be a semi-autonomous region of Denmark.