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2026-02-11 11:35:55

ilumium@eupolicy.social

The German federal government currently pays €481 million in licensing fees to #Microsoft every year.

I'm sure @zendis could build some nice stuff with half the money and make it available for everybody else to re-use.

#DigitalSovereignty #DigitalCommons #FOSS

2026-02-11 11:36:09

Jan Penfrat

ilumium@eupolicy.social

Source: https://www.golem.de/news/digitale-souveraenitaet-bund-zahlt-481-millionen-euro-fuer-microsoft-lizenzen-2602-205252.html

2026-02-11 11:53:03

txtx 🇪🇺🇺🇦

txtx@mastodon.social

@ilumium @zendis and this is just the German federal government? So it doesn't include regional governments, cities, etc?

Now imagine how much money all the EU states give to Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, Amazon...

It's absolutely mind bending, the jobs we could be supporting here in Europe.

2026-02-11 12:42:19

Iris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)

iris@neuromatch.social

@ilumium @zendis Schleswig-Holstein is ahead of the game! https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/landesregierung/themen/digitalisierung/linux-plus1

2026-02-11 13:56:24

DecebalTheThracian

decebal07@mastodon.social

@ilumium @zendis Sounds like the "German federal government" are a bunch of pigeon-brains.

2026-02-11 14:24:52

Alexander Goeres 𒀯

jabgoe2089@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Jan Penfrat and that is only the federal bill for m$. there are 16 länder with m$ bills, practically all municipalities ....

m$ get much more than only than 500mio € from german administrations ...

2026-02-11 15:33:35

Fred

frederik@ohai.social

@ilumium @zendis already did build something to use and share: #openDesk. It incorporates #Nextcloud, #Jitsi, nubus+#Keycloak (Identity Management), openExchange and more.

It's not that there is no viable alternative. It's that there is too little will to use it.

2026-02-11 16:05:13

Fabian Transchel

ftranschel@norden.social

@ilumium @zendis Not only @zendis ...

2026-02-11 17:37:47

Don Hawkins - W7DAH

donhawkins@mastodon.social

@ilumium @bmacDonald94 @zendis Seems an obvious, quick & easy way to improve “gubbermint” budgeting. #DumpMicrosoft

2026-02-12 15:14:20

JWcph, Radicalized By Decency

jwcph@helvede.net

@ilumium @zendis Denmark just renewed a Microsoft + cloud deal (MS, AWS, Google) of about 150 million per year over the next 5 years - notably, in a country with less than 1/10th the population of Germany.

Pretty sure we can also afford building something better if it can save us that kind of money...

2026-02-12 19:33:44

LionelB

lionelb@expressional.social

@zendis @ilumium

The UK government had a software development agency. It was highly successful. Since it demonstrated by its existence that her ideology was based on a lie, Thatcher destroyed the embarrassing evidence by making its closure her first act.