Data Sovereignty Fuels Microsoft and Google Alternatives
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have been widely used for years, firmly establishing themselves in the office software landscape. They offer integrated tools for document editing, file storage, sharing, and team collaboration—all accessible through a web browser. This convenience has made them a go-to choice for many individuals and organizations. But across Europe, that long-standing reliance is starting to shift.
Governments and enterprises in countries like Germany and France are actively working to reduce their dependence on these platforms. This shift isn’t just about choosing alternative software—it reflects a deeper, structural concern: data sovereignty.
What Is Data Sovereignty and Why Does It Matter?
Data sovereignty is the principle that individuals and organizations should retain full control over their data, including where it’s stored, who can access it, and how it’s processed. It’s not just a privacy issue. It’s tied to national security, industrial competitiveness, and operational stability.
Key Risks of Relying on Foreign Cloud Platforms
- Legal Conflicts
Under laws such as the U.S. CLOUD Act and the Patriot Act, American companies like Microsoft and Google are legally required to hand over data stored abroad if requested by U.S. authorities. This creates a legal gray area where data physically stored in Europe can still fall under U.S. jurisdiction, potentially violating GDPR and triggering lawsuits, fines, and customer loss. - Operational Disruption
Foreign cloud reliance comes with service interruption risks. Legal disputes, geopolitical tensions, or technical outages can result in sudden shutdowns. For public institutions or sensitive industries, this could cause major societal or financial disruptions. - High Switching Costs
Migrating from one cloud provider to another isn’t simple. It involves format conversion, system rebuilding, and staff retraining. These costs can lock organizations into a single vendor, even if service quality declines or pricing rises. - Loss of Competitive Edge
When sensitive customer or business data resides on foreign servers, organizations have less freedom to analyze, adapt, or build services around it. In contrast, companies with full control over their data can innovate faster and expand smarter.
Google’s Data Sovereignty Response: Efforts and Limitations
To address growing concerns over data sovereignty, Google launched its Sovereign Controls for Google Workspace initiative in 2023. This strategy includes processing data strictly within the EU, customer-managed encryption keys, and localized EU-based support teams. In 2024, the company expanded data center investments in France and Germany, and introduced “Assured Controls” to block data transfers outside specific regions.
While these moves reflect an acknowledgment of sovereignty demands, they have critical limitations. Google remains a U.S.-based company and is still subject to the CLOUD Act, which gives the U.S. government legal authority to request access to data stored abroad. This raises concerns about whether Google can ever truly meet European data sovereignty requirements.
Even with customer-controlled encryption keys, the infrastructure managing those keys operates within Google’s cloud environment — meaning customers don’t have full operational autonomy. Despite claims of GDPR alignment, several EU privacy experts and regulatory bodies argue that Google’s changes offer only partial compliance and do not fully support sovereign data control. (Refer to the Google Workspace Blog, Announcing Sovereign Controls for Google Workspace)
Microsoft’s Data Sovereignty Response and Its Challenges
Microsoft introduced the EU Data Boundary initiative in 2022, outlining its plan to store and process all European customer data for Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365 within EU borders. The initiative, aimed at addressing data sovereignty concerns, is expected to be fully implemented by 2025. The company is also investing in additional EU-based data centers.
However, Microsoft also remains subject to U.S. jurisdiction and is bound by laws such as the CLOUD Act and National Security Letters (NSLs). These laws can override localized data handling policies, undermining the core promise of data sovereignty compliance.
frastructure that supports EU data storage and processing may still rely on global Microsoft teams for maintenance and operations. This introduces potential exposure to cross-border risks, even if the data is physically kept in Europe. For many privacy advocates and regulators, Microsoft’s sovereignty strategy is seen as a step forward in optics, but not a comprehensive solution. (Refer to the Microsoft Blog – Microsoft completes landmark EU Data Boundary, offering enhanced data residency and transparency.2024)
The EU’s Own Cloud Projects: GAIA-X and OpenDesk
As private companies and public institutions explore alternatives to reduce dependence on foreign cloud services, European governments are launching structural initiatives to reclaim data sovereignty. Persistent concerns that foreign-operated clouds leave European data vulnerable to external government control have driven this shift toward domestic control over data storage, processing, and protection through projects like GAIA-X and OpenDesk.
GAIA-X
A cross-border cloud project led by Germany and France, aiming to build a federated data infrastructure with common standards. Companies like Siemens, SAP, and Deutsche Telekom are participating, with a focus on enabling secure, internal data sharing across industries.
OpenDesk
A French government project to provide self-hosted collaboration tools — including email, calendars, and document editing — using open-source platforms. Some ministries have already begun trial deployments.
A Sovereignty-First Alternative: High-Control Collaboration with Office Integration
As leading vendors like Google and Microsoft continue to roll out technical measures to address data sovereignty, structural limitations remain. This is precisely why some public institutions and enterprises in Europe are reluctant to place full trust in these platforms — and are actively searching for alternatives.
But these alternatives go beyond simply avoiding foreign-owned platforms. The real goal is to establish a collaboration environment where data can be directly controlled on the organization’s own infrastructure, without sacrificing user experience. This has led to growing interest in combining collaboration platforms and office software that offer strong autonomy and security.
Are Open-Source Office Tools a Viable Alternative?
Open-source office solutions are often viewed as a strong choice for organizations that prioritize data sovereignty. Their self-hosted structure gives organizations full control over data storage, access, and usage without being subject to foreign jurisdiction or third-party cloud policies.
Some tools also support real-time editing through web browsers without relying on external cloud services, and can be restricted to internal networks to maximize security. In theory, they offer an ideal balance between autonomy and control.
However, these structural advantages do not always translate into practical effectiveness. Many open-source solutions still face technical limitations, such as poor compatibility with proprietary file formats, inconsistent rendering of complex documents, or underdeveloped collaboration features. In some cases, the origin of the software vendor can also raise geopolitical or compliance concerns.
While the open-source model aligns well with sovereignty goals, its practical limitations mean it is not always a complete or reliable alternative. Organizations must evaluate whether the solution can meet real-world productivity and usability expectations, not just architectural ideals.
A Practical Model: Nextcloud + Thinkfree Office
In an era where data directly ties into national security and industrial competitiveness, organizations need a solution that offers both the convenience of the cloud and the control of on-prem infrastructure.
The combination of Nextcloud and Thinkfree Office delivers exactly that. Nextcloud provides a secure, self-hosted collaboration platform, while Thinkfree Office offers a user-friendly, high-performance online office suite that addresses many of the pain points commonly associated with open-source tools. With strong compatibility for Microsoft Office formats (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX), fast rendering, and real-time co-editing over local infrastructure, Thinkfree Office helps eliminate the need to compromise between usability and sovereignty.
There’s no longer a need to choose between convenience and control. This integrated solution proves that you can have both.
What’s Next?
Some organizations have already started taking control of their data by moving collaboration and document editing to private infrastructure. This approach goes beyond switching platforms. It involves rethinking how data is stored, accessed, and protected at every level.
In Part 2 we will explore how this is done in practice. We will look at how organizations set up secure collaboration with tools like Nextcloud and Thinkfree Office, how they keep data inside their own systems, and how they manage real-time editing without relying on external clouds.
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