Collaboration tool Docs: government project develops free Notion alternative
The German and French governments are developing an open source platform for collaborative working. Some functions are already available in the beta version.
(Image: DINUM)
Version 2.6.0 of the open source platform Docs for collaborative work and knowledge management has been released. It is currently still a beta version, in which documents can already be created and collaboratively edited. The tool also includes different block types, Markdown formatting and keyboard shortcuts. Media imports, offline editing and exports as DOCX, ODT and PDF are also possible. The application is the result of a joint project between the German and French governments and is intended to be an open-source alternative to proprietary productivity tools such as Notion or Outline (both from the USA).
Subpages and PDF reader are planned
In the future, Docs will have a navigation panel and support subpages for documents. Also on the roadmap are a comment function, an integrated PDF reader and the recognition of formatting when pasting from the clipboard. The GitHub project provides an overview of the current development of the tool based on Django, Next.js and MinIO. Access data for a test account is also stored there. Alternatively, the open source tool, which is available under the MIT license, can be self-hosted with an S3-compatible storage service.
The Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS), which is also responsible for the development of the open-source Microsoft 365 alternative openDesk and the openCode code exchange platform, is in charge for the German government. On the French government side, the interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM) is involved. Both project partners organize and finance digital projects with the aim of improving digital sovereignty. Docs is primarily aimed at local authorities and companies.
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The state of Schleswig-Holstein, which is switching from Microsoft Office to the free document processing software LibreOffice, will also rely on open-source alternatives in the future. In a recent open letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the industry also called for a clear commitment to European digital solutions. Parts of the special funds approved by the German government should also flow into digital infrastructure. The digital association Bitkom has called for investments of 100 billion euros from these funds to strengthen Germany's digital sovereignty.
(sfe)
