European software alternatives

Linux Desktop: replaces Windows / macOS

The desktop is where lock-in starts. A per-seat operating system licence renewed every few years is the quiet baseline cost that every other decision sits on top of, and it is the one line most organisations never revisit. Modern enterprise Linux removes that line entirely while keeping the things people depend on: a familiar desktop, managed updates, full-disk encryption, and central policy control.

• No per-seat licence, on any number of machines
• Long-term support releases with predictable security patching
• Runs comfortably on hardware Windows has declared obsolete
• Central management through standard, open tooling

Further reading: I Ditched Windows for a Sheffield-Built Linux Laptop. Here is What Actually Happened.

Collabora Office: replaces Microsoft 365

The objection to leaving Microsoft 365 is never the editing features, it is the fear that documents will break on the way out. Collabora is built on LibreOffice and reads and writes the same OOXML formats your correspondents use, so the interchange problem largely disappears. It runs on infrastructure you choose, which means the documents stay under the law you chose too.

• Reads and writes .docx, .xlsx and .pptx natively
• Browser-based collaborative editing, self-hosted or EU-hosted
• No telemetry back to a vendor by default
• Commercial support available from a European supplier

Dedicated guides: A European alternative to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 vs Collabora vs Proton Suite compared.

Further reading: US Technology Lock-In, European Digital Sovereignty, and Vendor Revenue Destabilisation

Beyond ERP: replaces SAP / Dynamics

ERP is the deepest lock-in in the building. It touches finance, stock, people and customers at once, which is exactly why replacing it feels unthinkable and why the licence renewal is never negotiable. A modular open-source ERP inverts that: you deploy the modules you need, keep the data in a database you can read, and add the rest when the business asks for it rather than when the contract does.

• Modular: start with finance and CRM, add manufacturing or HR later
• Your data in an open, queryable schema, not a proprietary store
• Typical deployment measured in weeks rather than quarters
• No seat-count renegotiation every time you hire

Further reading: Beyond ERP: What Replacing SAP and Dynamics with Odoo Actually Looks Like

Cloud Storage: replaces Google Drive / Dropbox

File sync is the service most likely to be quietly holding your most sensitive material, and the one least likely to have been through a jurisdiction review. Nextcloud gives you the same sync-and-share behaviour people expect, on storage whose location and legal exposure you chose. Where it sits stops being a footnote in a vendor datasheet.

• Desktop, mobile and web sync clients
• Sharing, versioning and retention policies you define
• End-to-end encryption available for sensitive folders
• Runs on your own hardware or a European hosting provider

Further reading: Residency Is Not Sovereignty

European Email: replaces Gmail / Outlook

Email is still where the sensitive material lives: contracts, HR cases, incident reports, board papers. European providers built on zero-access encryption cannot hand over message contents they are unable to read, which changes the answer to the only question that matters in a data protection assessment.

• Zero-access encryption: the provider cannot read stored mail
• Custom domains, shared mailboxes and calendars
• Standard IMAP and bridge access for existing clients
• Operated under EU or Swiss law, not the CLOUD Act

Further reading: The Sovereign Solution: How Proton Suite Offers a Viable Path to De-risk from US Tech Dependence

European Video Conferencing: replaces Zoom / Teams

Meetings are the softest target in most organisations: joined from anywhere, transcribed by default, and fed into AI features nobody remembers switching on. Proton Meet encrypts every call end to end using the open MLS standard, so Proton itself cannot see or hear what happens in your meeting, keeps no record of who attended, and sits in Swiss jurisdiction beyond the reach of the US CLOUD Act. Participants need no account and no install.

• End-to-end encrypted by default, using the open MLS standard
• Zero-access: the provider cannot see or hear your calls
• Free tier covers 50 participants for an hour, no account required
• Swiss made and owned, under Swiss law rather than the CLOUD Act

Dedicated guide: European alternatives to Zoom, Teams and Google Meet.

Further reading: Ten Jurisdictions, One Principle: Personal Data on Work Devices Is Not a Corporate Asset

Where to start

You do not have to move everything at once, and the organisations that try usually stall. Start with the system whose renewal is closest, or the one holding the material you would least like to explain in a breach notification. Each of the six above can be moved on its own.

The licensing cost model gives an indicative figure for your own seat count, and the articles work through the jurisdiction questions in more detail. Percentages here are based on published list pricing and are indicative, not a quote.

Last reviewed 7 September 2026. Corrections welcome. Get in touch and the change will be noted.