Austria military ditches Microsoft for open-source LibreOffice

Austria's military has replaced Microsoft Office with open-source LibreOffice across all 16,000 workstations, driven primarily by digital sovereignty concerns rather than the $6.5 million annual cost savings. The move reflects growing European distrust of American tech companies, with officials citing the need to maintain independence and keep sensitive military data in-house. This follows similar decisions by German states, Danish officials, and French cities abandoning Microsoft products to protect data from potential foreign interference. Austria invested in LibreOffice development, funding military-specific features that benefit the broader open-source community.