Sole traders, businesses and even entire countries are doing what would have been unthinkable a decade ago and actively transitioning away from a traditional IT support package powered by Microsoft Windows and 365 and towards bespoke alternatives.
One of the biggest driving forces is Switzerland, which, according to It’s FOSS and Swiss media platform RTS, is rolling out a workplace trial replacing Windows and Microsoft Office with open source alternatives.
Switzerland would be joining France, Germany, Ireland and the International Criminal Court in taking similar steps to radically change their IT provisions.
Why are they doing this? Could this lead to a world where Windows is no longer the norm? And should your business make the switch too?
Why Are Organisations Moving Away From Microsoft Windows?
According to an interview with Professor Matthias Sturmer at the Bern University of Applied Sciences for RTS, the long-running concerns surrounding the use of Microsoft Windows in public institutions or businesses which connect to public sector organisations are now impossible to ignore.
Whilst there are several others reported by publications such as ZDNet, there are three major points of concern sufficient in importance to offset the time and energy it would take an organisation to change the software and retrain their staff to use a new system.
Digital Sovereignty And Data Protection
The biggest concern for many companies not based in the United States is that the rise of cloud-based software-as-a-service platforms would put sensitive data into platforms owned by technology companies who could choose or be compelled to disclose it.
Given that there are already concerns that Google Docs has been scraped for AI training data, which it then discloses to end users, tools at any risk of being compromised or compromising themselves should never be used to handle sensitive data.
Using open source software ensures that any software used and data stored is managed locally and securely.
Service Continuity Risks
The other concern with software platforms is that they are at risk of continuity issues depending on the systems they need in order to run their business, and if the servers needed to run your computers are overseas, your business could be disrupted in the event of any problem.
Server outages, government mandates from the country where your software originates, and end of support for software you otherwise are happy to use can lead to disruption whilst you scramble for an alternative.
At no point should a business ever fear that the basic tools they need to run their business could be shut off at any point; if that becomes an active concern, they need to ensure they have a backup or more robust alternative.
Even if you avoid outright outages, it is possible that applications you rely on are updated with features which make them far less usable, or ones that could potentially leave you with legal liability if they go wrong.
Switching to open source tools means that you should have greater access and knowledge of everything going into your software, with the option to install an alternative fork without those features if necessary.
Escalating Costs
Along with the concerns regarding the freedom to use a piece of software as your business sees fit, there are also concerns surrounding licensing costs, support costs and subscription features which seem to only increase and escalate.
Increasing maintenance costs, upsells for features that used to be included as standard and software licenses previously bought outright now being sold as a monthly per-system subscription have all added up.
What makes this worse is that these fees are completely under the control of the software company and their country of origin, which has led to businesses paying far more for software now than they did in the past.
Alongside this, ending support opens businesses up to risk, forcing them to not only upgrade software but hardware as well in order to stay safe.
What Are The Alternatives To Microsoft Windows?
Whilst commercial alternatives such as Apple macOS and ChromeOS exist, the most popular alternative for businesses is Linux, an open-source operating system and software ecosystem, as well as the application suite OpenDesk.
Unlike Windows, where every part of the system is owned by Microsoft and largely closed down, Linux is highly modular, with every aspect of the user experience customisable and optimisable through the use of various distributions.
Similarly, OpenDesk can be implemented on a company’s own servers for free, although an Enterprise Edition model is available to provide a managed system with more personalised support.
Both systems are designed to make it easier for existing Windows users to switch to Linux and continue to use all of the tools they need for work without being too intimidated by the system.
The End of 10 Movement, for example, specifically highlights the benefits of switching old, perfectly serviceable computers and getting a wealth of security and speed benefits.
The key is to choose the right distribution for your business and its needs, with tools such as Distrochooser helping to make even this part easier.