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Austria's military has switched from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice.
The move was all about digital sovereignty, not cost savings.
Other governments are moving away from Microsoft to protect their citizens' privacy.
Austria's military has completed a major IT overhaul, replacing Microsoft Office with the open-source LibreOffice suite across all its desktop systems. The change, finalized this month, affects approximately 16,000 workstations in the Austrian Armed Forces.
This move will substantially reduce Austria's software bill. At $33.75 per user per month, a Microsoft 365 E3 subscription for 16,000 workstations costs approximately $6,480,000 per year, compared to LibreOffice's zero cost.
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But this move isn't about saving money. The real motivation is to gain digital sovereignty and control over critical data. As Michael Hillebrand of Directorate 6 information and communications technology (ICT) and Cyber Defense, explained: "It was very important for us to show that we are doing this primarily to strengthen our digital sovereignty, to maintain our independence in terms of ICT infrastructure and to ensure that data is only processed in-house."
Austria has plenty of company
This concern is not unique to Austria. Many EU governments are dumping Microsoft to protect their data. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein is replacing all Microsoft software with Linux and LibreOffice in government offices.
Austria's move comes shortly after Danish officials said they'd be leaving Microsoft behind for the same reasons. The French city of Lyon is also moving to Linux and LibreOffice from Windows and Office to protect its citizens' data.
Recently, digital sovereignty has become a contentious issue for countries outside the US that have been relying on American companies. Many European governments no longer trust their data or software to US-based companies under President Donald Trump.
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They fear their data could be read or that Microsoft could kill their services on Trump's behalf. While Microsoft chairman and general counsel Brad Smith dismissed such concerns and promised that the company would stand behind its EU customers against political pressure, others don't trust Microsoft.
Their concerns will only be inflamed now that The Guardian reports that Microsoft has cut off Israel's access to Azure, which the nation had been using to store data for a Palestinian surveillance system. While some people may support this decision, it also serves as a sharp warning that US companies can and will cut IT resources from their customers for political reasons.
In Austria's case, the government started to worry that such moves were forthcoming when, in 2020, the military identified the risks of dependency on external cloud services, particularly those from the US. Austria wasn't the only one. The German Interior Ministry warned in 2019 that Germany had become overly dependent on Microsoft software.
Years in the making
Austria's transition planning soon kicked off, with employees being allowed to migrate voluntarily starting in 2022. By 2023, external developers joined to provide training and bolster LibreOffice with features needed for military workflows. Many of these features have since been contributed back to the larger LibreOffice project for the benefit of all users.
Austria isn't just replacing Microsoft software. Unlike typical public-sector and corporate migrations, Austria's military has heavily invested in LibreOffice development itself. The armed forces have been funding the creation of new features and improvements that are now included in public releases. These additions, ranging from improved slideshow editing to better handling of pivot tables, have been rolled into the latest version of LibreOffice.
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While Microsoft Office 2016 was deeply embedded in legacy workflows, it has now been purged from all military systems as of September 2025. However, personnel with specialized needs may still request access to Office 2024 LTSC modules on a case-by-case basis. Some programs, such as Microsoft Access and specific font licenses, continue to be used under limited conditions.
Austria's switch highlights a growing trend among European governments to prioritize data independence, open collaboration, and local control over reliance on foreign cloud services. European companies, such as Linux power SUSE, are also offering services to EU countries and companies to help them transition to European-based open-source software, clouds, and services. I expect this movement to continue to gain strength rapidly.