Microsoft's Presence in Lyon, France, Forced Out

The French city of Lyon has taken a significant step towards digital sovereignty by gradually moving away from Microsoft software and adopting open-source alternatives. The city has launched the Territoire Numérique Ouvert (TNO), a new open-source collaborative platform, as part of this shift.

The TNO platform ensures full control over public data and meets national digital sovereignty standards. All services of the TNO are hosted in regional data centers located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The platform integrates various tools such as Jitsi, Nextcloud paired with ONLYOFFICE, Zimbra, Chamilo, and Matrix.

Lyon's aim in this move is to reduce dependency on proprietary offerings. The city is replacing Microsoft Office with open-source alternatives like ONLYOFFICE and switching from Windows to Linux-based operating systems. This decision comes after Denmark's transition from Office 365 to LibreOffice.

The success of the TNO platform could set a precedent for open-source solutions in European governments. European countries are growing increasingly wary of relying on Microsoft for critical government and public sector services. Concerns about data privacy, digital sovereignty, and potential governmental surveillance are leading European countries to question the viability of depending on Microsoft for sensitive infrastructure.

Countries like Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium are expected to follow Lyon's example by reducing dependence on proprietary software like Microsoft and shifting towards open-source alternatives such as ONLYOFFICE and Linux-based systems to increase digital sovereignty in Europe. The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has already started the shift from Windows to Linux.

The TNO project received €2 million in funding from the Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires (ANCT). The platform was developed with the Métropole de Lyon and the SITIV. Thousands of employees across several local governments in France are already using the TNO.

Lyon's move is a significant step towards digital sovereignty and follows the trend of European countries distancing themselves from relying on Microsoft for critical services. This shift towards open-source solutions could potentially influence other European countries to adopt similar strategies.