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The German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is done with Microsoft SharePoint, ditching it for a self-hosted Nextcloud deployment that is already serving around 5,000 employees.
Eventually, that number will be scaled up to 50,000 public sector workers, covering agencies ranging from ministries down to municipal offices.
What’s happening?
Currently, Nextcloud is handling file sharing, and features like chat, video conferencing, and groupware tools are coming next. The existing implementation as well as the expansion is being handled by DVZ M-V, the state’s IT services provider.
The state’s CIO, Marco Anschütz, says the SharePoint migration for the first 5,000 employees went smoothly, with no disruption or data loss, further adding that:
Together with DVZ M-V, we’ve built a platform that runs reliably today and is being expanded step by step.
The above quote was translated from Deutsch. 📝
Nextcloud isn’t the only aspect of the open source push. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern also uses OpenProject as an alternative to proprietary project management tools and has built its own administrative AI assistant, LEA, that is based on OpenWebUI.
Not a solo effort
The northern state isn’t figuring this out alone. In 2025, its Ministry of Finance and Digitalization signed a cooperation agreement (in Deutsch) with the State Chancellery of Schleswig-Holstein, specifically to strengthen digital sovereignty across both states.
That’s a state which needs no introduction when it comes to adopting open source solutions to Big Tech problems.
Many of their governmental agencies have already migrated their email system off Microsoft Exchange and Outlook, made LibreOffice mandatory across their administration, and are expecting to save more than €15 million a year in licensing costs as a result.
Nationally, Germany backs the same direction with the Deutschland-Stack, a sovereign infrastructure framework. It limits public administration to two document formats, ODF and PDF/UA, excluding Microsoft’s .doc, .ppt, and .xls entirely.
The framework also favors open source tools and European providers over foreign ones, aiming to cut vendor lock-in, and promoting digital sovereignty across public administration.
Wrapping up
None of this means Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is cutting ties with Microsoft entirely. SharePoint is out, sure, but that’s the scope of what’s actually announced so far.
Nonetheless, going from 5,000 employees to their stated target of 50,000+ is a massive undertaking, and with two states coordinating this move instead of migrating separately, their alliance might end up as an example for other German states to follow.
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