Austria's Armed Forces Switch To LibreOffice (heise.de)
(Friday September 19, 2025 @11:01AM (msmash)
from the digital-sovereignty dept.)
- Reference: 0179371656
- News link: https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/09/19/1452223/austrias-armed-forces-switch-to-libreoffice
- Source link: https://www.heise.de/en/news/Austria-s-armed-forces-switch-to-LibreOffice-10660761.html
[1]alternative_right writes:
> Austria's armed forces have switched from Microsoft's Office programs [2]to the open-source LibreOffice package . The reason for this is not to save on software license fees for around 16,000 workstations. "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," emphasizes Michael Hillebrand from the Austrian Armed Forces' Directorate 6 ICT and Cyber.
>
> This is because processing data in external clouds is out of the question for the Austrian Armed Forces, as Hillebrand explained on ORF radio station O1. It was already apparent five years ago that Microsoft Office would move to the cloud. Back then, in 2020, the decision-making process for the switch began and was completed in 2021.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right
[2] https://www.heise.de/en/news/Austria-s-armed-forces-switch-to-LibreOffice-10660761.html
> Austria's armed forces have switched from Microsoft's Office programs [2]to the open-source LibreOffice package . The reason for this is not to save on software license fees for around 16,000 workstations. "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," emphasizes Michael Hillebrand from the Austrian Armed Forces' Directorate 6 ICT and Cyber.
>
> This is because processing data in external clouds is out of the question for the Austrian Armed Forces, as Hillebrand explained on ORF radio station O1. It was already apparent five years ago that Microsoft Office would move to the cloud. Back then, in 2020, the decision-making process for the switch began and was completed in 2021.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right
[2] https://www.heise.de/en/news/Austria-s-armed-forces-switch-to-LibreOffice-10660761.html
An entity in the US of A won't entertain this... (Score:2)
> "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,"
Let Austria be ready for `retaliation` from the "mighty" USA.
Blackmail, sanctions and further, all that existing complex electronic gadgetry will immediately need some form of license to operate.
I think there's gonna some pain for the Armed Forces.
Re: (Score:2)
Nah, it won't come to that. Microsoft will just wait for them to get a new CTO, and then offer them a highly discounted Microsoft Office licensing package. We've seen this story before many times on Slashdot, it usually ends the same way every time.
Re: (Score:2)
Microsoft is just rolling their eyes and saying ok.. see you again in 3.5 years.