2025-10-01 –, Auditorium
This contribution, delivered by Sven Thomsen, CIO of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, outlines the state’s pioneering path toward digital sovereignty through Open Source and Open Innovation. It highlights the risks of dependency on proprietary software—including lack of transparency, inflated costs, and reduced security—and positions Open Standards and Open Source as essential for autonomy, resilience, and competitiveness. The speech details Schleswig-Holstein’s concrete migration from proprietary to Open Source solutions across its administration, supported by strategic planning, procurement reforms, and budget shifts. Initiatives such as the state’s Open Source Program Office (OSPO) and innovation hubs foster collaboration between government, industry, academia, and civil society, ensuring sustainable adoption and stimulating regional economic growth. Emphasizing both national security and Europe-wide competitiveness, the keynote calls for collective action to establish Open Source as the new normal in public IT systems, framing the transformation as a shared European mission for digital independence.
Digital sovereignty is presented as a cornerstone of security, autonomy, and competitiveness in Europe. Reliance on proprietary software from global corporations creates structural dependencies: it limits the ability to shape IT systems, reduces transparency, increases security vulnerabilities, and drives up costs. These dependencies weaken long-term economic resilience and reinforce technological imbalances between Europe and other regions.
To address these challenges, Schleswig-Holstein has launched a comprehensive transformation of its own public IT. Proprietary solutions are being systematically replaced with Open Source alternatives: LibreOffice replace Microsoft Office, Open-Xchange and Thunderbird replace Exchange and Outlook with, Nextcloud is the new collaboration toll, wich replace SharePoint, Linux will replace Windows. It is in a pilot phase. Schleswig-Holstein never used Teams or Webex. OpenTalk is used as the video conferencing tool.
Structural measures support this transformation, including the establishment of an Open Source Program Office (OSPO) to coordinate strategy, ensure transparency, and promote sustainable governance. An innovation hub connects public administration, startups, academia, and civil society to co-develop solutions, such as an Open Source Electronic Case File system. Small and medium-sized enterprises are also encouraged to integrate Open Source programs, extending the ecosystem beyond public administration.
Open Source is framed not only as a technical alternative but also as an economic driver and a political necessity. Studies demonstrate that greater adoption of Open Source boosts startup creation, GDP growth, and competitiveness. The approach resonates with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 17, by fostering open collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The vision for the future includes binding Open Source strategies, procurement reform to prioritize open solutions, budgetary shifts from licensing fees to development and community building, and systemic changes beyond simple technical replacements. The message is clear: Open Source can enable secure, efficient, and innovative administrations and must become the new normal across Europe to achieve digital independence.
Sven Thomsen is CIO of the state of Schleswig-Holstein and heads the Department of Digitalisation and Central IT Management in the state's Ministry of Digitalisation. Previously he worked as a freelance consultant, project manager at Norddeutscher Rundfunk and head of department at the Independent Centre for Data Protection.