Bottom line: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is replacing Microsoft SharePoint statewide with Nextcloud and deliberately avoiding US technology companies in AI projects to secure digital independence.
The state is breaking away from the Microsoft ecosystem and establishing a statewide open-source infrastructure based on Nextcloud. Finance Minister Heiko Geue justifies this with digital sovereignty and long-term cost savings.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is focusing on self-determination in digitising public administration. The Ministry of Finance and Digitalisation has anchored a strategy for a phased exit from Microsoft products in the cloud and AI sectors. At its core is the introduction of Nextcloud, a German-developed open-source platform that enables file storage, teamwork and video conferencing without external data control. The state-owned IT service provider DVZ M-V GmbH acts as the operator.
The migration from Microsoft SharePoint has already taken place for the first 5,000 employees and proceeded smoothly, reports Marco Anschütz, Chief Information Officer of the state. In the medium term, over 50,000 employees – from ministries to municipal institutions – are to switch to the new platform. In October 2025, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern signed a cooperation agreement with Schleswig-Holstein to leverage technological synergies and strengthen IT security and mutual emergency scenarios.
In developing the administrative chatbot “Lea”, the state is deliberately avoiding dependency on US hyperscalers such as Microsoft, OpenAI, Google or Amazon. Instead, European language models such as Mistral (France) or Tilde (Latvia) are being considered. This stems from the desire to maintain technological sovereignty and reduce costs in the medium term.
However, a complete departure from Microsoft is not planned. Windows PCs in the administration will not be replaced with Linux-based computers in the short term, as this is not currently a priority. The focus is initially on replacing cloud and AI services.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published 3 July 2026
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