Many government departments around the world are moving away from vendor lock-in by tech giants, and switching to free and open source software like LibreOffice. This helps with privacy, security, and digital sovereignty. One such example is the Austrian Military (Bundesheer), which has moved 16,000 PCs from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. We talked to them, to find out why and how they did it…
When did all of this start? When were the first decisions made?
It began in 2020, with the trend toward running software increasingly in the cloud and less on-premises on devices within companies. At that time, we examined what guarantees existed for running software – specifically Microsoft Office – directly in the workplace without any cloud connection. So the review and preparation began in 2020.
In late 2022 and early 2023, the decision was made to switch to LibreOffice. The goals were to ensure that data never leaves the company and that the Office applications can be used without external dependencies.
Who made the decision?
The decision was structured in such a way that our “corporate leadership” – that is, the Federal Ministry of Defence – could decide, based on the information compiled regarding future software development and cloud dependencies, that we would switch to LibreOffice.
It was actually decided by the Federal Minister’s cabinet and the relevant departments – so at the very top.
Did you create a “timeline” at the beginning – something like “Y should happen by X” and so on?
After we received the assignment, we carried out the planning to determine how the transition could take place and what needed to happen. The plan included, from an early stage, that we would guide our users to LibreOffice in a timely manner, partly by installing LibreOffice at the user’s request. That is, we made it available, and the users who wanted it could have it installed.
We saw very high adoption rates – not 100%, but about half.
Half of 16,000?
Yes. And the next step we planned was to make its use mandatory, because it’s crucial not only to announce that something new is coming but also to require its use so that people have to start working with the tool early on. Of course, switching from an Office suite that’s been used in the company for over 30 years to a completely new product – even if it looks similar but behaves differently – requires practice.
That’s why we specifically made the use of LibreOffice mandatory in selected services. And we did this as early as 2023, so that users could get familiar with it well in advance. This gave users time to tailor the transition to their own needs and prepare for it, and we didn’t just flip the switch all at once with a “big bang.” The change was announced over the course of several years.
Finally, in December 2024, the use of LibreOffice became mandatory for internal collaboration. This meant we actually provided several years of preparation time to make this transition as smooth as possible.
(Photo credits: Bundesheer Fotos, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
So many people switched to LibreOffice voluntarily from the start, without being forced to. Was there a lot of resistance? Did you customise the user interface?
The 8,000 users mentioned installed the product to see what was coming. That doesn’t mean that all 8,000 of them immediately started using LibreOffice. But it was a good indicator for us to gauge the mood. If 200 people install it, that’s different from when there are so many.
Early on, before we mandated its use, we provided extensive e-learning modules and videos – including what we call “fast tracks” for the individual modules. With these, it was possible to learn the most important changes for Writer, Calc, Impress, and Base within 15 minutes, so users wouldn’t fall into the typical pitfalls. Anyone who invests those 15 minutes will find it much easier to use the software.
We gave users the opportunity to prepare and view these courses and videos on their own at a time of their choosing.
Another important point: We’ve learned that we need to quickly address individual users’ questions – such as those regarding unfamiliar workarounds or missing features – for the benefit of the broader community.
That’s why we specifically looked for suitable communication channels, and we then agreed to publish a so-called “Tip of the Week” about once a week on a very specific, clearly defined topic. And this “Tip of the Week” appears every Monday on the intranet with a current topic. That means anyone who opens their browser on Monday will see the “Tip of the Week.”
It explains topics we covered the previous week. When we release a new version, there’s a “Tip of the Week” featuring the latest features. When we roll out new functions and enhancements – some of which are sponsored by the Austrian Armed Forces – we highlight them in the “Tip of the Week.”
But we also cover usability topics – for example, how to enable the menu bar even when the tabbed interface is selected. How to use presentations across multiple screens, and so on and so forth. We’ve been doing these “Tips of the Week” for two years now, and they’ve been very well received. It’s a great communication tool for us.
Next week we’ll post Part 2 of the interview, looking at the features and improvements in LibreOffice that the Austrian Military sponsored, and tips for future migrations. Stay tuned…
