Digital sovereignty in Government: German State Premiers and the International Criminal Court choose openDesk

Open Source collaboration for the public sector

Digital collaboration in public administration is becoming increasingly important across Europe and beyond. Questions of data protection, interoperability, and digital sovereignty are now central to how governments organize their work.

In Germany, one initiative is setting a strong example: openDesk, an open source collaboration platform designed specifically for public institutions, developed by the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration (ZenDiS), a government-owned organization promoting open and secure IT infrastructures. openDesk integrates several trusted open source applications – including OpenProject for project management and task tracking – to enable secure, transparent, and independent collaboration within and between public organizations.

A milestone for openDesk: The German conference of Minister Presidents

A key milestone for openDesk was its successful use by the Conference of Minister Presidents (“Ministerpräsidentenkonferenz”, MPK). This conference brings together the heads of all 16 German federal states several times a year to coordinate policy decisions across the country.

At the October 2024 meeting in Leipzig, openDesk was used for the first time – only one week after the platform’s official launch. The organizing team from the State of Saxony wanted a secure, sovereign system for sharing documents, recording decisions, and collaborating on materials between all 16 states.

The result was a complete success. openDesk proved to be reliable, secure, and interoperable. The conference’s digital processes ran smoothly, and all participating offices could collaborate efficiently. This first real-world use case demonstrated that open source collaboration works even at the highest levels of government.

The technology behind openDesk

openDesk is a modular, fully open collaboration suite that combines several established open source solutions into one cohesive environment. It is developed and supported by a strong network of European and German partners who are committed to transparency, data protection, and digital sovereignty:

• B1 Systems GmbH – consulting and infrastructure services for open source deployments.
• Collabora Online – collaborative editing of office documents directly in the browser.
• Element Software GmbH – secure chat and video communication based on the Matrix protocol.
• Nextcloud GmbH – secure file storage, synchronization, and sharing.
• Nordeck IT + Consulting GmbH – software development and integration of open collaboration tools.
• OpenProject GmbH – project management, task planning, and transparent team collaboration.
• Open-Xchange GmbH – open e-mail and groupware infrastructure.
• STACKIT GmbH & Co. KG – cloud hosting infrastructure based in Germany.
• Univention GmbH – identity and access management for public IT systems.
• XWiki SAS – open knowledge management and documentation platform.

Together, these organizations deliver a sovereign, privacy-respecting digital workspace that meets the strict security and data protection standards of European public administrations.

Secure hosting within Germany

During the first deployment at the MPK in Saxony, openDesk was operated by Adfinis and hosted on the cloud infrastructure of IONOS, which is certified according to the C5 security standard of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

The more recent MPK meeting under the chairmanship of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate was hosted by STACKIT, the cloud provider of the Schwarz Group (known for Lidl and Kaufland), with technical support from B1 Systems.

This collaboration between public institutions, mid-sized IT service providers, and open source software vendors shows how digital sovereignty is becoming a practical reality in Europe – secure, independent, and future-proof.

Growing momentum: The International Criminal Court joins the movement

Digital sovereignty is not just a German or European topic anymore. The idea of using open, transparent, and locally controlled software is gaining international traction.

Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced its decision to replace Microsoft products with openDesk. This move by one of the world’s most important international justice institutions underlines a growing trend: organizations handling sensitive information are increasingly turning to open source solutions to ensure long-term independence and control over their data.

OpenProject as a key component of openDesk

As one of the core components of openDesk, OpenProject provides the backbone for structured project and task management. It enables transparency, accountability, and traceability of decisions – essential qualities for complex administrative environments.

OpenProject helps public sector teams coordinate their work effectively, stay aligned on responsibilities and timelines, and maintain full control over their data. Hosted on European infrastructure and fully open source, it meets the highest privacy and compliance standards.

Learn more about openDesk and the software providers behind it.

Looking ahead

By the end of 2025, openDesk aims to deploy around 160,000 licenses across German public institutions. The platform continues to expand – from large organizations like the Robert Koch Institute to smaller but strategically critical bodies such as the Conference of Minister Presidents.

openDesk and its components, including OpenProject, represent a shared vision: digital sovereignty as the new standard, not the exception.