Austria’s Ministry of Economy takes decisive steps toward digital sovereignty

How do you modernize digital collaboration in government without losing control over your data?
Austria’s Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) faced this challenge in 2024 – and decided to take a clear, pragmatic step toward digital sovereignty. Within just four months between Proof of Concept and rollout, the ministry went live with a secure Nextcloud environment, operated on its own infrastructure in Austria and designed to meet strict transparency and compliance requirements.

Why the ministry decided to act

The BMWET faced the challenge of modernizing its collaboration tools at a time when questions around data protection, compliance, and technological dependency were becoming increasingly relevant.
A risk analysis showed that relying entirely on cloud services from non-European providers would introduce significant legal and security uncertainties. Especially regarding the protection of sensitive information under GDPR and the upcoming NIS2 directive.

“We carry responsibility for a large amount of sensitive data – from employees, companies and citizens. As a public institution, we take this responsibility very seriously. That’s why we view it critically to rely on cloud solutions from non-European corporations for processing this information,” says Florian Zinnagl, CISO of BMWET.

The ministry decided to introduce Nextcloud on its own national infrastructure, strengthening security, data protection and independence while maintaining familiar workflows.

A hybrid setup that works in practice

At the time of the project, BMWET was already in the process of adopting Microsoft 365 and Teams. Reversing that path wasn’t realistic. Instead, the ministry implemented a hybrid architecture: Nextcloud handles internal collaboration and secure data management, while Teams remains available for external meetings.

In collaboration with Nextcloud partner Sendent, Outlook integration ensured seamless email and calendar workflows, enabling employees to continue working with familiar tools while ensuring sensitive information stays within Austrian infrastructure.

A fast and well-coordinated rollout

From proof of concept to full deployment, the process took only a few months – an unusually fast timeline for a public sector ICT project. Working closely with Nextcloud and implementation partner Atos Austria, BMWET rolled out the new platform across 1,200 employees.

“An extensive information campaign, clear communication, training sessions and a gradual transition ensured high acceptance and a smooth process,” says Martin Ollrom, CIO of BMWET. “Through integration with existing systems, we were able to significantly modernize our digital service portfolio and, ultimately, collaboration — without disrupting employees’ established workflows.”

Expertise and collaboration make the difference

Large public IT projects are complex. To ensure success, BMWET worked closely with Nextclouds experts throughout every stage – from initial assessment to full rollout. This partnership helped translate legal, technical and organizational requirements into a stable, compliant and user-friendly setup.
Because that’s what we do at Nextcloud: support public institutions in achieving long-term digital sovereignty with confidence and the right expertise.

Meeting organizations where they are

The BMWET case shows that digital sovereignty isn’t an all-or-nothing shift. Every organization starts from a different point with its own tools, regulations and user expectations.

Nextcloud adapts to those conditions, integrating into existing infrastructures and evolving step by step. Whether hosted on-premises, managed by trusted partners or in hybrid form, we work with customers to find the balance between control, usability and compliance that fits their specific needs.

To learn more about the project, read the full case study here.