- The largest German state, Bavaria, has canceled a nearly billion-euro contract with Microsoft.
- The state administration will pursue a “sovereign basic workspace” based on open-source components.
- Bavaria’s Digital Minister Fabian Mehring says the decision allows the state to protect itself from price hikes and ensure data privacy.
The Bavarian Ministry for Digital Affairs has officially announced the cancellation of a planned framework agreement with American tech giant Microsoft intended to implement its productivity suite across the state administration.
Regional news website Mittelstand in Bayern reports that Microsoft services would have cost nearly €1 billion ($1.16 billion) over a five-year period.
Instead, Bavaria will pursue a “sovereign basic workspace” based on open-source components.
The decision comes after a months-long power struggle between the state’s Finance Ministry, led by Albert Füracker, who wanted to consolidate existing contracts and secure discounts, and Digital Minister Fabian Mehring, who pushed for open source.
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I don’t doubt that they will try, but €200 million per year in outgoing expenses is probably what’s going to be looked at, along with the security issue that sparked this whole thing in the first place, the next time any Bavarian politician tries to convince them to move away from euro office, open office or libre office etc. and back to Microsoft. I think the security issues are far too great to convince them, never mind the expense.