Swiss government tests open-source workplace beside Microsoft 365
Reviewed by Helen Jones
The Swiss Federal Chancellery has completed a 172-person test of an open-source workplace based on openDesk and launched a wider programme. Around 3,000 federal employees are expected to get the separate workplace by the end of 2027, running alongside Microsoft 365 rather than replacing it outright.
Microsoft 365 exit plans are often discussed as a licence or procurement decision. In practice, email, calendars, documents, meetings, identity and file storage form one connected workplace, so replacing one product means testing the handoffs between all of them. The Swiss approach turns that abstract risk into a measured programme: test real users first, record where the alternative works and where it does not, then run the new environment in parallel. Small Microsoft 365 admin teams can borrow that method even if they never intend to leave Microsoft.
Analysis
Choose one business-critical Microsoft 365 workflow and map every dependency it uses, including identity, email, files and meetings. Then write down the minimum fallback that would keep that workflow running during a prolonged outage or supplier change.
Source note
Pulse published by Collab365 Spaces, reviewed by Helen Jones on . Cite as "Swiss government tests open-source workplace beside Microsoft 365", Collab365 Spaces.