Nextcloud enables secure, sovereign collaboration for Austria’s Federal Ministry

Executive summary

The Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) has around 1200 employees across its headquarters in Vienna and four external European locations. Their goal is to further improve Austrian business opportunities, promote growth, and ensure a sustainable economic recovery. This, of course, means that they handle personal data for its employees, but also from Austrian companies and citizens.

In 2024, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) faced the urgent need to modernize its collaboration tools, after Skype for Business was phased out. On top of that, they needed to remain compliant with strict GDPR and NIS2 regulations. Although both management and users initially pushed for Microsoft Teams, a legal risk assessment revealed major concerns around cloud data handling.

To avoid workflow disruption, the ministry adopted a hybrid approach: deploying Nextcloud on-premises for secure file sharing and communication, while activating Sendent to integrate it with Outlook workflows and Teams for external meetings. The result was a significant step toward digital sovereignty. The new user-friendly platform, improved compliance, reduced vendor lock-in, and won over even the users who were skeptical.

Ensuring compliance while modernizing the IT infrastructure

In 2024, the BMWET faced the challenge of modernizing their collaboration tools while keeping in line with strict Austrian digital sovereignty requirements. On top of this challenge, support for Skype for Business (the tool they were using) approached its end.

Microsoft Teams seemed the default solution, but a detailed Data Protection Impact Assessment revealed some serious legal and compliance risks with storing sensitive data in Microsoft’s cloud. Specifically, Austrian law and EU regulations (GDPR and the upcoming NIS2 directive) require full control over data. There was no compromise to be made when it came to data protection and data sovereignty.

In a nutshell, they were looking for a solution to these challenges:

• Mandate to align with GDPR and NIS2 requirements
• Legal risks from cloud-based data handling
• User expectations to preserve workflows
• Need for secure external collaboration with EU partners
• Increased independence from foreign cloud providers

Nextcloud lays the foundation for sovereign collaboration

In order to successfully solve their challenges, the ministry took a hybrid approach, with a custom system architecture. They implemented Nextcloud Hub, with the exception of Nextcloud Groupware, for secure collaboration, hosted on their premises. Additionally, with support from Nextcloud partner Sendent a Microsoft integration was implemented, allowing users to continue using Outlook, synchronize their calendars with the Nextcloud environment, hold external meetings via Microsoft Teams, and redirect all file transfers from Teams to Nextcloud. Internal collaboration and meetings take place in Nextcloud Talk, ensuring full data control and secure communication.

The open-source nature of Nextcloud allowed for full customization, compliance with laws and regulations, and seamless integration with the existing systems.

This approach ensured:

• A major step toward digital sovereignty by strengthening control over the infrastructure and sensitive data
• Compliance assurance with full audit trails and compliant data processing
• User familiarity by preserving Outlook workflows
• External collaboration with Teams as a tool for external meetings
• Future-proof flexibility based on the created foundation for further independence from Microsoft

Implementation process

Secure, flexible collaboration under full data control

Thanks to Nextcloud, all sensitive government data now resides securely within Austria’s national infrastructure. With a smooth technical implementation, the results and impact were observed right away.

Adoption

The adoption of the new system was aided by a couple of things. Firstly, the platform was branded internally as “ConnectX“ to foster user trust and distinguish it from public cloud offerings. Short, focused tutorials were published weekly on the intranet prior to the roll-out to prepare the transition, and, during the transition period, IT teams provided hands-on support.

Lastly, users were informed and engaged with regular updates and feedback channels.

Compliance and vendor risk

The integrated solution strengthened GDPR and NIS2 compliance through detailed audit trails and transparency in data processing. The ministry also reduced its reliance on a single vendor, gaining more flexibility and negotiation power.

Productivity and cost savings

With Nextcloud, government staff can securely collaborate on internal documents and share files with external partners while keeping full control over data. Employees now have secure access to systems from mobile devices and personal computers, boosting flexibility without compromising security. Tools like collaborative editing, task tracking with Nextcloud Deck, and password management have improved daily workflows, while automated policy enforcement has reduced the need for manual IT oversight, saving time and lowering operational costs.

Impact and recognition

BMWET’s approach and implementation has made its rounds across Austria’s public sector and beyond. Two other ministries have begun looking into the solution, with one of them already in the evaluation phase.

There was also a strong management endorsement from leaders who initially favored Teams. However, as a result of the outstanding performance, their original preference was transformed into strong advocacy implementation.

At the end of the day, this project has positioned Austria as a leader in sovereignty implementation, being in strong alignment with EU initiatives on digital sovereignty and reduced dependency on non-EU tech providers.

Expanding Nextcloud benefits

In the near future, the ministry plans to extend its use of Nextcloud. They intend to activate Nextcloud AI features, including deploying language models. As a next step, they consider syncing Exchange with Nextcloud Groupware with the goal of improved usability for scheduling and reduced reliance on Microsoft Outlook. Finally, they are taking security enhancement measures.

The Austrian Ministry’s experience shows that government organizations can achieve digital sovereignty without sacrificing functionality or user experience.