Out of the Microsoft lock-in? A question of data sovereignty

At least among German mid-sized companies, the impression arises that there is no alternative to Microsoft and the M365 ecosystem. Although Microsoft makes an effort to reinforce that impression, the question remains how accurate the assumption actually is. It does not concern Microsoft alone, of course: given the currently changing role of the USA in the world, it has become important for IT as a whole. Blind trust in the systems of American vendors suddenly strikes us as somehow naive and risky.

To stay with the Microsoft example: many companies use Microsoft products out of habit and convenience, not necessarily because of their optimal performance and functionality. The admittedly good integration of the products – everything feels of a piece – the licensing policy and the essentially uniform administration reinforce this further.

So for the moment there appears to be no need to act. And even the fact that expectations of moving to Azure have not been met, at least on the cost side, does not immediately lead to the approach being actively questioned.

A strategic exit from the Microsoft lock-in is highly complex, but not impossible either. What matters is an analysis of a company's individual processes, communication paths and security requirements.

Alternatives from other vendors or open-source solutions from the Linux world offer, in return, the chance of competitive advantages through a best-of-breed or best-in-class approach (total cost of ownership) as well as better operational control.

How do you see it: is it worth looking beyond the familiar?

If you would like to assess the dependencies in your IT landscape and examine possible paths, talk to us.