Fight for digital sovereignty: Experts demand free OpenDesk for universities
University IT warns of US software dependence, demands free OpenDesk licenses from federal government for domestic open-source alternative.
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The German higher education sector is heading towards a strategic dead end in the area of office software. At least, that's what leading IT experts warn in a letter to Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) available to heise online: While US giant Microsoft offers its Office suite to students free of charge, the state-owned German alternative OpenDesk costs 45 Euros net per user per year.
The fact that an open-source solution is pricier than the proprietary competing product is primarily due to the costs for secure operation and maintenance in certified German data centers. While Microsoft uses free access as a marketing tool for long-term customer loyalty, the sovereign solution must finance its infrastructure in real terms.
For a medium-sized university with 30,000 students, this means additional annual costs of over 1.6 million Euros, the authors point out. This financial hurdle makes the politically desired shift to digital independence practically impossible. The signatories, including Torsten Prill from the Association of University Computer Centers (Zentren fĂĽr Kommunikation und Informationsverarbeitung in Lehre und Forschung e.V., ZKI) and representatives of the Gesellschaft fĂĽr Informatik (GI), criticize this situation as an absurd competitive disadvantage for a federally owned development.
Strategic dependence instead of digital independence
Far more than just the budget is at stake. The authors fear that Germany is losing control over its educational and research infrastructure to non-sovereign ecosystems. While OpenDesk, provided by the Center for Digital Sovereignty (Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität der Öffentlichen Verwaltung, Zendis), relies on full data sovereignty and open standards, the path via Microsoft leads to "Cloud Lock-in". Even if stored in the EU, data is subject to access by US authorities, for example, through the Cloud Act.
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The appeal gains urgency through reference to the national security strategy of the USA. According to the experts, this aims to expand monopolistic positions for US technologies globally. At the same time, federal spending on Microsoft products is exploding: it has risen from 274 million Euros in 2023 to around 481.4 million Euros last year.
The demand to the ministry is therefore: By mid-2026, a solution must be found that makes OpenDesk available free of charge to all students. Only then can digital independence in education prevail against the market power of US corporations. It is time to invest in the sovereignty of future skilled workers, rather than merely financing growing dependencies.
(mma)
