Open source software earns trust through transparency

Many IT managers ask themselves this very question. The answer lies in the way open source communities work. Every change goes through rigorous code reviews. Maintainers check every contribution before it's integrated in the software. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) regularly examines open source software, taking full advantage of this very transparency. If a security expert finds a critical bug, they can immediately see who wrote the problematic code, where, and when.

With proprietary software, on the other hand, external experts cannot understand how security problems arose or if they were ever even fully resolved. The crucial difference is therefore control. With commercial applications, you have to rely on the vendor sharing your security priorities. With open source, you can check for yourself or have it checked.

Contrary to the saying, having too many cooks in the kitchen is advantageous here, as they all check each other's work. Every developer knows that their code can be reviewed by experts around the world. This creates a completely different kind of quality pressure that teams in closed systems don't experience.

openDesk: Trustworthiness in practice

openDesk serves as a practical example of how open source trustworthiness functions in the daily work of public authorities. The office and collaboration suite meets the strict requirements of the BSI standard C5:2020 for cloud services and is fully GDPR-compliant. While this may seem like a standard compliance statement, it has a critical consequence: you can verify these claims.

A good example is the chat encryption: openDesk uses Element with end-to-end encryption as standard. IT administrators can look at the code and see exactly how the encryption is implemented. For emails, OpenPGP encryption is available via Open-Xchange. With proprietary office suites, you might be shown a certificate, but the implementation itself remains hidden.

Several German local authorities are already using openDesk in their daily operations. Their experiences show that this transparency makes adoption easier, because IT teams can check in advance what changes are needed for their infrastructure. They do not have to second-guess or rely on vendor statements.

This transparency has yet another advantage: when security vulnerabilities are discovered, all openDesk users can immediately see which components are affected. With popular big-tech office solutions on the other hand, users have to wait for information to trickle down and hope that it includes all the relevant details.

Long term planning security through technological independence

Ultimately, trust in software means having control over your own IT infrastructure. Public sector bodies that rely on open source software can plan for the long term without having to worry about licence changes or discontinued products. With openDesk, you also know exactly what happens to your data and where it is stored.

This planning security is becoming increasingly important. If a commercial provider changes its business strategy or is acquired, all users, including those in the public sector, are faced with a fait accompli.

Open source software, in contrast, cannot simply disappear or suddenly become unusable. The community ensures that important projects live on.

For IT decision makers in public organisations, this means fewer dependencies, more control, and transparent security standards. openDesk offers all of this in a practical solution that is already running successfully in German public administration.

Experience openDesk for yourself! Book a free demonstration to see our field-tested office and collaboration suite for the public sector live in action.