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2 hours ago
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Bavaria is moving to the Microsoft cloud: The state government intends to conclude a contract with the US corporation by the end of the year for the use of the cloud office package Microsoft 365. The aim is to conclude "a new consolidated Enterprise Agreement (EA) for state authorities," according to a presentation by the responsible Bavarian Ministry of Finance, which c't has obtained.
As a first step, ministries and authorities of the Free State are to use the cloud services. According to the presentation, the "Bavaria Contract" is also intended to serve as the basis for a "municipal contract" through which cities and municipalities can procure Microsoft 365. The presentation names the M365 E5 package, including Teams, as a specific product.
The Ministry of Finance did not provide information on the planned contract duration and expected costs when asked by c't. A spokeswoman for CSU Minister Albert Füracker merely stated that the Free State and municipalities are currently centrally clarifying "questions regarding the use of cloud-based services (esp. Microsoft 365)." This also included questions of data protection, IT security, technical implementation, and digital sovereignty.
License costs in the billions?
Representatives of Bavarian IT and open-source companies are sharply criticizing the planned Microsoft deal in an open letter: "Almost one billion euros in license costs would flow to the US corporation over five years." These funds would be "withdrawn from the Bavarian economy, especially from innovative software manufacturers in the state," according to the letter, which was initiated by B1 Systems, OpenProject, the Heinlein Group, and the Association for the Promotion of IT from Europe (ITE), among others.
The open-source companies arrive at the sum of almost one billion euros over five years through a rough calculation: The list price of Microsoft 365 E5 including Teams is 59.70 euros per user per month. They estimate the costs, including discounts, at approximately 55 euros per month per workplace, with the number of employees in the state of Bavaria, excluding teachers, being around 270,000. That would be about 180 million euros per year. In reality, Microsoft's discounts could be higher, but the number of users would increase if subordinate public organizations or municipalities were added.
Criticism from the Greens and SPD
The opposition in the Bavarian state parliament is also criticizing the planned deal. "Bavaria is a leading high-tech location – with outstanding research, a strong digital economy, and a growing open-source community," said Benjamin Adjei, spokesperson for Digital Affairs for the Green parliamentary group. "But instead of leveraging this strength, the state government prefers to rely on US providers. First, the analysis platform VeRA was awarded to Palantir, and now hundreds of millions are to flow into Microsoft clouds."
Florian von Brunn, spokesperson for Economy, Energy, and Digital Affairs in the SPD parliamentary group, told c't: "I am quite astonished that digital independence from the USA and Trump plays no role for the Söder government. Furthermore, it irritates me that such a contract is awarded abroad without considering domestic companies." Other federal states and the federal government are taking different approaches.
The SPD representative has submitted a written inquiry with numerous questions to the state government, for example, regarding the total volume of procurement and considerations of economic efficiency compared to open-source alternatives such as openDesk.
(cwo)
