Digital Sovereignty: OpenDesk Not Full Microsoft Alternative, Study Finds

For employees of the City of Zurich, a rapid replacement of Microsoft 365 with the open-source alternative OpenDesk is currently not possible. This is at least the result of a study conducted by Zurich's Competence Center for Digitalization and the Bern University of Applied Sciences, which has now been presented. It states that while OpenDesk “meets the functional requirements of regular office life in many areas,” a complete switch is missing “central elements of a modern computer workplace.” The authors include external telephony with caller ID, effortless video conferencing with external parties, native apps, and limitations arising from OpenDesk being browser-based. Furthermore, low-code automations are missing.

OpenDesk is being developed by the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration (ZenDiS) and has been increasingly considered a possible alternative to Microsoft software widely used in administrations for some time. Technically, it is browser-based technology that combines various open-source software with different functions. Specifically, this includes Nextcloud for file management and Collabora Online as an office replacement. In Zurich, the aim was to determine whether the technology could already serve as a full-fledged replacement for Microsoft 365 and its many integrated functionalities, and what might still be missing.

Many requirements are already met

The study concludes that OpenDesk meets most requirements for chat and essential requirements for a file manager. For emails, all core functions are met, and the calendar meets “all functional requirements,” with praise for its appealing interface. The presentation software makes “a good impression.” However, it is also pointed out that mobile applications are used intensively in administration, and with OpenDesk, one is reliant on apps from individual components. A major problem area is that OpenDesk runs in the browser, which limits functions such as notifications, data exchange, and access to sensors and security elements.

For the study, user reports from administrations that have already switched to open-source technology were also collected. Schleswig-Holstein is highlighted, but it does not use OpenDesk. It is pointed out that the switch there is not from Microsoft's modern software but from older on-premise office versions. For example, it has been shown that the transition has no negative impact on attractiveness as an employer. At the same time, it has also shown that a single-digit percentage of employees will remain dependent on office products. In the northernmost German state, for example, many “heavy Excel users” in the tax administration are exempt from the requirement to switch.

The analysis is a snapshot. It is explicitly pointed out that ZenDiS continuously develops OpenDesk with monthly updates. At the same time, it is stated that some missing functions could be provided with available open-source software such as LibreOffice and Thunderbird. On the other hand, OpenDesk is more than twice as expensive as comparable Microsoft packages. A practical test is now planned next, where OpenDesk will be tried out in a productive environment. The city has declared strengthening digital sovereignty as its goal and wants to create the basis for the use of alternatives to Microsoft 365.

(mho)