Today, the Centre for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), together with its partners, officially presented openDesk version 1.0 at the Smart Country Convention (15–17 October 2024, in Berlin).
The office and collaboration suite integrates powerful open-source applications under a single, cohesive interface to enable efficient digital teamwork. Features include:
Word processing and spreadsheets
Email, contacts, and calendar functionality
Cloud storage
Chat and video conferencing tools
Project management module
Wiki system
openDesk 1.0 is built on well-established enterprise-grade components from Collabora, Element, Nextcloud, Nordeck, Open-Xchange, Univention, OpenProject and XWiki. By seamlessly integrating these technologies into a consistent user interface (UI), openDesk delivers a smooth and user-friendly experience (UX). The collaborative features create new possibilities for online teamwork.
With the launch of version 1.0, openDesk is now available in two editions: the Community Edition, which has already been accessible on the open-source platform openCode, and the Enterprise Edition, now offered with two professional hosting models: The self-hosting option allows deployment in an organisation’s own data centre, supported by ZenDiS’s partner B1 Systems. Alternatively, the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model is hosted in the sovereign data centres of the German cloud provider StackIT.
With openDesk, we're providing our colleagues in public administration with a totally flexible office and collaboration suite that enables completely new ways of working together while strengthening digital sovereignty. This combination is truly unique.
ZenDiS has intentionally chosen open-source software for openDesk, directly aligning with the official “Strategy for Strengthening Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration IT” adopted by Germany’s IT Planning Council in 2021. The strategy underscores the role of open-source software in ensuring transparency, interoperability, and freedom from vendor lock-in.
The digital workplace is the backbone of public administration, which makes us particularly vulnerable to critical dependencies. With openDesk, we now have a viable alternative to proprietary solutions. This is a major step toward an essential strategic goal: increasing our digital sovereignty to secure long-term integrity and operational capability.
openDesk runs directly in browsers, making it operating system-independent and accessible from any device without the need for local installation.
Digital sovereignty in Europe is the result of strong international partnerships, not just national solo efforts. One example of this is our cooperation with the French Direction interministérielle du Numérique (DINUM).
ZenDiSWith version 1.8 of openDesk, our focus is on the continuous improvement of system stability, security, and the optimisation of existing features.
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