Alternatives to Microsoft 365

Microsoft Corporation is a US company and as such is subject to the CLOUD Act (2018). US authorities can compel the disclosure of data stored in Microsoft data centers, even when those are located within the EU. Microsoft operates data centers in the Netherlands and Ireland, but its legal jurisdiction remains in the United States. The Schrems II ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU (2020) found that US surveillance laws conflict with the GDPR.

Microsoft 365 transmits telemetry data to Microsoft servers. Data protection authorities in the Netherlands and Germany found in investigations (2019 and 2021) that Office 365 in its default configuration sends diagnostic data that may exceed what is legally permissible. Microsoft subsequently expanded configuration options for enterprise customers, but a full deactivation of telemetry is not possible.

Microsoft 365 is available exclusively on a subscription basis. Monthly costs range from €5.10 per user (Microsoft 365 Business Basic) to €22 (Business Premium). ONLYOFFICE, Collabora Online and LibreOffice are open-source software available in base versions at no cost and enable self-hosting on own servers without ongoing license fees. For public agencies and educational institutions this can represent a significant cost advantage.

LibreOffice is deployed in government institutions worldwide: the German Federal Foreign Office uses LibreOffice, as do parts of the Italian public administration and numerous European municipalities. ONLYOFFICE is integrated into Nextcloud, enabling full self-management of documents, files and communication. CryptPad is funded through EU grants and offers zero-knowledge collaboration, where the server cannot read document contents.