openDesk Evaluation for City of Zurich
The City of Zurich, in collaboration with the Institute for Public Sector Transformation at BFH, has conducted a study to assess whether the open-source suite “openDesk” is a viable, digitally sovereign alternative to Microsoft 365.
Factsheet
- Schools involved Business School
- Institute(s) Institute for Public Sector Transformation
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 01.08.2025 - 31.01.2026
- Head of project Prof. Dr. Matthias Stürmer
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Project staff
Matthias Stürmer
Pascal Stöckli
Markus Tiede
Lukas Kahwe Smith - Partner Organisation und Informatik der Stadt Zürich
- Keywords Digital Sovereignty, openDesk, Microsoft 365, Open Source, vendor lock-in, City of Zurich, ZenDiS, Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration, proof-of-concept, Sovereign Digital Switzerl
Situation
The growing dependence on global IT providers such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, as well as current geopolitical developments, have intensified the debate surrounding digital sovereignty in public administration. In the City of Zurich as well, the City Council submitted several motions in the fall of 2025 calling for a reduction in dependence on U.S. cloud providers and a strengthening of digital sovereignty. The City of Zurich has been using Microsoft 365 since 2021 for Office and collaboration applications. The licenses cover not only software but also core services such as data storage, device management, and cybersecurity. This close integration leads to significant vendor lock-in, reduced cost control, and legal uncertainty, particularly in connection with the U.S. Cloud Act. Against this backdrop, the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Zurich commissioned the Organization and Information Technology Department (OIZ), together with the Institute for Public Sector Transformation (IPST) at Bern University of Applied Sciences, to investigate whether the open-source suite “openDesk” from the German Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS) represents a functionally, technically, and economically viable alternative to M365.
Course of action
The BFH project team first developed requirements for a modern digital communication and collaboration platform, based on documentation from Microsoft, Google, Nextcloud, and Collabora/LibreOffice, as well as insights from the federal administration’s BOSS proof of concept (PoC) and the Second Source study by Digital Administration Switzerland. These requirements were prioritized in collaboration with the OIZ. The BFH then analyzed “openDesk” against these requirements in an exploratory “spike” format—conducting tests from the perspective of end users and technical administrators. A total of approximately 70 research spikes were carried out over four iterations and documented in tabular form (requirement, status, description). The components examined included chat, video conferencing, email, calendar, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, files, and administration (AD integration, feature restrictions). Three “openDesk” instances in different editions and versions were used (Community Edition v1.7.0 and Enterprise Edition v1.8.0). To estimate costs, five ICT service providers from Switzerland and Germany were contacted in December 2025. Additionally, on November 18, 2025, the OIZ conducted an exchange of experiences with Schleswig-Holstein and its operating company, Dataport, which is developing a comparable digitally sovereign workplace.
Result
The analysis shows that “openDesk” already covers the basic functions of an office workspace (word processing, spreadsheets, email, calendar, chat, video conferencing, and file storage) well to very well. The interface is largely familiar to M365 users; isolated gaps (e.g., lack of full-text search in documents, limited macro support) are evident but are being continuously addressed through new releases. However, a rapid, complete replacement of M365 is not currently possible, as “openDesk” does not offer its own desktop or mobile apps, external telephony, or equivalents to the Power Platform. Key operational services such as automated device and client management, as well as comprehensive cybersecurity features (comparable to Microsoft Defender), are also missing and would need to be supplemented by additional solutions. At around CHF 230 per year, “openDesk” online licenses are currently more than 50% more expensive than comparable Microsoft licenses; a detailed cost analysis will only be possible once the implementation model has been clarified. The exchange of experiences with Schleswig-Holstein also showed that migrations there were mostly carried out from older on-premises solutions and not directly from M365, which distinguishes the City of Zurich’s starting point.
Looking ahead
The study recommends that the City of Zurich conduct a proof-of-concept with city employees in the production environment. This should, in particular, clarify whether “openDesk”—including the supplementary desktop applications—meets the requirements in an everyday work environment, ensures user acceptance, and enables secure, highly automated operations, including device and client management. As part of the proof-of-concept, open questions regarding data migration, interfaces to line-of-business applications, interoperability during potential parallel operation with M365, total costs, and the replacement of central services such as telephony and the Power Platform should also be examined in depth. Unlike in many German government agencies, any migration would not originate from an older on-premises solution but rather from an already established, modern M365 setup and would need to be implemented gradually over several years to ensure operational reliability and user acceptance. The City of Zurich also intends to deepen its collaboration with other government agencies in Switzerland and abroad in order to realize synergies and economies of scale in the medium term in the event of a potential implementation, and to jointly further develop “openDesk” and other open-source solutions.
