- Office.eu runs exclusively on European infrastructure to protect local data sovereignty
- The platform integrates document editing, e-mail, calendars and calls into one workspace
- Collabora Online provides the office suite derived from the LibreOffice code base
A new digital workspace called Office.eu has been launched in an attempt to offer a European controlled alternative to widespread office software platforms.
The platform is described as a cloud-based environment built entirely on European infrastructure and owned by a European company.
The company says its overall goal is to reduce long-standing dependence on software ecosystems dominated by US vendors.
The article continues below
A push for European control of digital infrastructure
“We have seen more and more how important it is to become cloud-independent and rely on software that is built around European values,” says Maarten Roelfs, CEO of Office.eu.
“For many years, Europe has been dependent on American software and therefore created a certain risk of dependence, but it has also given away control over its own data. Office.eu proves that we now have a strong European alternative, with sovereignty, privacy and transparency at its core.”
The service offers a collection of productivity tools that combine document editing, file storage, communication features, calendaring and email services on a single platform.
Although marketed as a new alternative to dominant office software ecosystems, the underlying technology appears to rely on existing open source collaboration frameworks.
Office.eu runs on infrastructure built around Nextcloud Hub, which combines file management, messaging systems and collaborative workspaces.
Document editing within the platform appears to rely on Collabora Online, an office suite derived from the LibreOffice codebase that allows users to create and edit documents directly through a browser interface while supporting collaborative editing features.
Concerns about digital sovereignty have gained attention among policymakers and organizations across Europe in recent years as discussions focus on reducing reliance on platforms operated outside the EU.
Projects such as Office.eu attempt to address this concern by offering collaborative environments hosted exclusively on European infrastructure.
Office.eu says the system integrates files, communication tools and collaborative editing capabilities within a single workspace.
“Office.eu is 100% European owned and runs exclusively on European data centers. The data and apps stay exactly where they belong and are secured from non-European control,” Roelfs added.
“The office suite is very intuitive and easy to use, enabling a seamless transition from US software to Office.eu. We also help customers migrate conveniently from Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.”
However, the software architecture shows that the platform depends to a large extent on well-known open source building blocks rather than entirely new development.
The hosting infrastructure relies on European data centers operated by the German provider Hetzner.
The service is currently being rolled out across Europe through an invitation system to selected organizations that have requested access.
As for pricing, the company says it’s comparable to existing market offerings, and migration tools are available to move data into the platform.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
