The Nextcloud Podcast Open source and Nextcloud in government: Insights from Sven Thomsen, Schleswig-Holstein's CIO
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Oct 23, 2024 
Sven Thomsen is the CIO of Schleswig-Holstein, leading the charge in open source and digital sovereignty in government. He discusses the motivations behind adopting open source solutions, like cost pressures and enhancing local ecosystems. Sven shares insights on the pivotal role of Nextcloud as a collaboration hub and its integration of AI to streamline workflows, especially in meeting regulatory challenges. He emphasizes a strategy of small pilot projects for effective implementation, highlighting the value of community engagement and user feedback in this transformative journey.
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Don’t Do It All In-House
- Build a service ecosystem; you cannot succeed by doing everything in-house.
- Rely on external providers to help implement open source transitions and focus on user needs.
Politics Determines Technical Success
- Political backing is essential for large IT transitions; technical change without sponsors fails.
- Schleswig-Holstein secured unanimous political support and local laws favoring open source to enable procurement.
A Small Ecosystem Made The Desktop Move
- The state surveyed 'hidden champion' vendors and assembled a small ecosystem of five to six key partners.
- Nextcloud became a core component for document collaboration alongside OpenExchange, Jitsi, Moodle, LibreOffice and Univention.
