Software:OpenDesk

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OpenDesk
OpenDesk logo
Developer(s)ZenDiS (de)
Initial release20 October 2024; 16 months ago (2024-10-20)[1]
LicenseApache 2.0[2]

OpenDesk (stylized as openDesk) is a free and open-source suite of productivity software developed by the German ZenDiS (de) (ZenDiS). Designed for the public sector as an alternative to Microsoft's Office and 365 products, OpenDesk is part of Germany's digital sovereignty project, which aims to reduce the country's reliance on software services from United States technology companies.[3][4]

The software suite is a web application that integrates a word processor, spreadsheet editor and presentation program (Collabora Online); cloud storage service (Nextcloud); email server, digital calendar and contact manager (Open-Xchange); instant messenger (Element); videotelephony service (Jitsi); project management tool (OpenProject); and wiki (XWiki).[5]: 2 [6]: 2  OpenDesk is provided in community and enterprise editions, with the latter in both self-hosted and software-as-a-service (SaaS) configurations.[3]

History

OpenDesk was initially created as a fork of Dataport (de) Phoenix (dPhoenix), an abandoned office suite project funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior.[5]: 4  ZenDiS started collaborating with the French Interministerial Digital Directorate (fr) (DINUM) in February 2024 to develop features for OpenDesk and its French equivalent, LaSuite (fr). The agencies added videotelephony, note-taking, and single sign-on features to both software suites in 100 workdays.[7]: 2  Through government procurement, ZenDiS began employing open-source software firm B1 Systems in August 2024 to create and maintain OpenDesk's enterprise edition.[8]

On 20 October 2024, ZenDiS released version 1.0 of OpenDesk.[1] As of that year, according to iX, the German government had allocated a combined €45 million to ZenDiS for OpenDesk development.[3] Golem reported in August 2024 that, on an annual basis, the German government funded OpenDesk with less than 0.1% of the amount it had been spending on proprietary software.[7]: 1 

Public IT company BWI reached a seven-year agreement with ZenDiS in April 2025 to use OpenDesk within the Bundeswehr, which would additionally merge BWI's BundesMessenger platform into the software suite.[9] In June 2025, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency announced that ZenDiS would provide OpenDesk to the Federal Ministry of Health's 7,000 users through the ministry's Agora collaboration platform; ZenDiS incorporated an online discussion platform into OpenDesk to meet RKI's requirements.[10][11]

In response to US president Donald Trump's imposition of sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was followed by the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan being disconnected from his Microsoft-hosted email account, the ICC announced in October 2025 that it would switch from Microsoft Office to OpenDesk.[12][13][14][15] The Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund and Bundesagentur für Arbeit insurers began a trial implementation of OpenDesk in January 2026.[16]

Components

OpenDesk includes the following software applications:[5]: 2 [6]: 2 

Software applications included in OpenDesk
Name Logo Functionality
Collabora Online
Collabora Online logo
 Word processor, spreadsheet editor and presentation program
Nextcloud
Nextcloud logo
 Cloud storage
Open-Xchange
Open-Xchange logo
 Email server, digital calendar and contact manager
Element
Element logo
 Instant messenger
Jitsi
Jitsi logo
 Videotelephony
OpenProject
OpenProject logo
 Project management
XWiki
XWiki logo
 Wiki

The applications serve as replacements for proprietary software, including Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service, Exchange email server and Teams communication applications. XWiki handles the role of Atlassian's Confluence wiki.[6]: 2  Organizations can customize the selection of applications within their deployment of OpenDesk.[17]

Additionally, OpenDesk incorporates the following software components:[6]: 2 

Additional software components used in OpenDesk
Name Logo Functionality
Univention Nubus
Nubus logo
 Identity and access management (IAM)
ClamAV
ClamAV logo
 Antivirus
Dovecot
Dovecot logo
 IMAP server
Postfix
Postfix logo
 Mail transfer agent

Technical implementation

In February 2025, Linux-Magazin recommended running OpenDesk in a data center with a minimum of five to six servers, with three servers reserved for the Kubernetes container orchestration system on which OpenDesk is deployed and the remaining servers dedicated to the OpenDesk applications.[6]: 2  While OpenDesk can be hosted on cloud computing platforms that support Kubernetes, Linux-Magazin cautioned that doing so on Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure would contradict the purpose of using OpenDesk for digital sovereignty.[6]: 3  B1 Systems provides the SaaS configuration of OpenDesk through the cloud computing platform StackIT, which is operated by a subsidiary of the Schwarz Group.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fischer, René (20 October 2024). "openDesk 1.0 is here!" (in en-UK). https://www.opendesk.eu/en/blog/opendesk-1-0. 
  2. ↑ "README_EN.md". 28 October 2025. https://gitlab.opencode.de/bmi/opendesk/gitlab-profile/-/blob/main/README_EN.md. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kannenberg, Axel (27 September 2024). "Microsoft 365 alternative: openDesk version 1.0 announced for October" (in en). Heise Group. https://www.heise.de/en/news/Microsoft-365-alternative-openDesk-version-1-0-announced-for-October-9955715.html. 
  4. ↑ Ströbele, Anna (30 May 2024). "Ein souveräner Arbeitsplatz für die Verwaltung" (in de). https://www.behoerden-spiegel.de/2024/05/30/ein-souveraener-arbeitsplatz-fuer-die-verwaltung/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Feilner, Markus (25 April 2024). "Opendesk vom Zendis ausprobiert: Ein Web-Desktop für die Verwaltung" (in de). pp. 1–6. https://www.golem.de/news/opendesk-vom-zendis-ausprobiert-ein-web-desktop-fuer-die-verwaltung-2404-184511.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Loschwitz, Martin; Feilner, Markus (February 2025). "OpenDesk von ZenDiS im Überblick" (in de). pp. 1–4. https://www.linux-magazin.de/ausgaben/2025/02/zendis-opendesk/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Feilner, Markus (5 August 2024). "Zendis: Ein unterschätztes Open-Source-Projekt auf Expansionskurs" (in de). pp. 1–3. https://www.golem.de/news/zendis-ein-unterschaetztes-open-source-projekt-auf-expansionskurs-2408-187555.html. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wiltscheck, Ronald (2 September 2024). "Mehr digitale Souveränität in der öffentlichen Verwaltung: B1 Systems soll openDesk zum Durchbruch verhelfen" (in German). https://www.channelpartner.de/article/3902725/b1-systems-soll-opendesk-zum-durchbruch-verhelfen.html. 
  9. ↑ Krempl, Stefan (7 April 2025). "Framework agreement: MS-365 alternative OpenDesk to conquer the Bundeswehr" (in en). https://www.heise.de/en/news/Framework-agreement-MS-365-alternative-OpenDesk-to-conquer-the-Bundeswehr-10342383.html. 
  10. ↑ Künstler, Diana (18 June 2025). "RKI und ZenDiS bauen digitale Kooperation aus" (in de). https://www.connect-professional.de/office-kommunikation/rki-und-zendis-bauen-digitale-kooperation-aus-334172.html. 
  11. ↑ Krempl, Stefan (13 June 2025). "Sovereignty: Public health service increasingly relies on open source" (in en). https://www.heise.de/en/news/Sovereignty-Public-health-service-increasingly-relies-on-open-source-10443654.html. 
  12. ↑ Jennings-Trace, Ellen (31 October 2025). "The International Criminal Court is ditching Microsoft software for an open source alternative" (in en). https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-international-criminal-court-is-ditching-microsoft-software-for-an-open-source-alternative. 
  13. ↑ "Internationaler Strafgerichtshof: Wechsel zu deutschem Officepaket nach US-Sanktionen" (in de). 30 October 2025. https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/internationaler-strafgerichtshof-wechsel-zu-deutschem-officepaket-nach-us-sanktionen-a-6ddfddcd-8871-4955-898a-2a325ae7fe06. 
  14. ↑ Robinson, Dan (31 October 2025). "International Criminal Court dumps Microsoft Office" (in en). https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/31/international_criminal_court_ditches_office/. 
  15. ↑ Allen, Tom (31 October 2025). "International Criminal Court drops Microsoft for open source". https://www.computing.co.uk/news/2025/open-source/international-criminal-court-drops-microsoft. 
  16. ↑ Krempl, Stefan (21 January 2026). "Microsoft alternative: Social insurers trial OpenDesk for emergencies" (in en). https://www.heise.de/en/news/Microsoft-alternative-Social-insurers-trial-OpenDesk-for-emergencies-11149607.html. 
  17. ↑ Menhard, Esther (26 April 2024). "openDesk: Wie das BMI den souveränen Arbeitsplatz auf die lange Bank schiebt" (in de). https://netzpolitik.org/2024/opendesk-wie-das-bmi-den-souveraenen-arbeitsplatz-auf-die-lange-bank-schiebt/. 

Further reading

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  • Source code on OpenCode (de)
  • 2024 LibreOffice and Open Source Conference presentation by ZenDiS at Wikimedia Commons



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