The International Criminal Court recently banned Microsoft due to concerns about US sanctions. More parties are worried that our data will soon be inaccessible if President Trump tries to assert his power.

In April of this year, Cursor already wrote about the risk of Trump cutting off access to our data. While this is theoretically possible, then-Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Martin de Vries estimated the likelihood of this happening for TU/e ​​to be very small. 

Alternatives

Seven months later, the public demand for European data alternatives seems to be growing. Is TU/e ​​now actually looking for a replacement for Microsoft? The answer is partly yes, but not yet institutionally driven.

“Several departments within the university are already testing, for example, Nextcloud – a German cloud solution," says De Jong. "We are also working with educational partner SURF on our own solutions, for example in the field of IT security.” 

If there is no comprehensive alternative, the university will try to arrive at a fully-fledged solution through several interventions, so that it can continue without Microsoft. However, the final verdict on the feasibility of this is not yet in order.

Cables

There are other alternatives on the market, such as the German Open Desk, which the International Criminal Court is now switching to. And the European initiative GaiaX, but none of these can replace Microsoft. That IT provider does much more than provide a typing application or manage data in a cloud. 

“Besides word processors, Microsoft also has security solutions, cables, servers in data centers, access control, SharePoint, and AI across all of this,” De Jong explains. “So simply replacing Microsoft isn't an option.” 

And switching only partially would require a lot of extra administrative work and money, and wouldn't reduce the risk of data blocking. The American giant is the largest supplier of software and services to TU/e.

Consortium

Finding alternatives to Microsoft is something that several universities are considering. That's why Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, the University of Amsterdam, Erasmus University, and Tilburg University are collaborating in a consortium to develop alternatives.

TU/e is not involved but says it is following the initiative with interest. The collaboration with SURF for the same purpose is broader: all Dutch universities are members.

Building together

De Jong, incidentally, sees both advantages and disadvantages in the interconnectedness of Microsoft's IT services. “On the one hand, it's difficult for all the components to work together. We can't simply pull something out and replace it. That creates dependency. But on the other hand, the system works so well that you don't notice the complexity as a user.”

A future European alternative must be built by countries, governments, and knowledge partners together. “I think we can contribute our knowledge to developing a solution,” says De Jong, referring to the software and hardware expertise within the university. That development will likely take years.

Trade balance

The current systems that dominate the world—Microsoft and Google—were built by billion-dollar companies and further developed for decades. Even if the Netherlands makes every effort now, a fully-fledged alternative won't be readily available. That gives American companies power. 

Yet, De Jong believes there's another side to this power struggle between the US and Europe. “The US is hinting that they can cut off our data, but if fear in Europe becomes too great and we leave, it will have a major financial impact on them. The trade balance on services and ICT is actually positive for America: they make a lot of money from European contracts with Microsoft and Google.”

De Jong believes this will prevent US from simply pressing the ‘block access button’. Such a thing causes a lot of unrest, with financial consequences.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor