Dutch tax office ditches Microsoft 365 cloud for on-premises alternative

“The Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration has abandoned its planned Microsoft 365 cloud migration in favour of services hosted on infrastructure it controls, alongside European open source alternatives. Email and calendars will move on-premises in 2027, followed by storage and collaboration services later that year and in 2028.” Yes it is not just for the technical security reasons mentioned in the linked article, as those were Microsoft decisions. Once in such a cloud service, it is very difficult to exit it again, not to mention of course there is the digital sovereignty issue that should concern every government around the world. Be wary of market-speak that sells convenience, reduced need for own IT personnel and hardware, etc. The truth is, the cost goes up, you have less to fall back on, and your data is no longer under your (and often your country’s) control. It is a bit like drugs, just don’t do it at all, as it will seem nice, but it will be very difficult to get away…