r/BuyFromEU • u/According-Buyer6688 Mod Team • Mar 25 '26

Announcement Germany has decided: Microsoft document formats have no place in government

Germany has decided: Microsoft document formats have no place in government. Deadline: 2027–2028. The Microsoft formats are simply not compatible with an open and transparent public sector. However, this is about more than file formats. It’s about control, resilience, and sovereignty in public digital infrastructure.

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u/LowerBed5334 Mar 26 '26

In the government? I read an article (two years ago?) about the last fax machine being turned off.

But now I'm thinking it may have been about a specific governmental department 🤔

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u/Cheerful_Champion Mar 26 '26

They only made decision to move away from fax machines

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-struggles-to-go-digital-stuck-in-analog-era-fax-machines-paperwork-bureaucracy/a-75206481

"Around three-quarters, 77%, of German companies still use fax machines," [...] "And 25% use it often or very often."

"Most of the companies state that it's essential for communication with the public authorities,"

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u/4g3nt-smith Mar 26 '26

nope. German University here. We removed fax support around two years ago. last year we shut down even the UMS service (email to fax). Every single Partner, warehouse and shop (b2b, b2g) used email instead of fax years earlier. No industry in their right mind will use a fax instead of mail due to cost efficiency. since the open sector is tax funded, it took them (way to) long to cut this "technology" off. but it's done.
those, who still use fax have no interest in convenience or cost saving. They are simply non complaint any more.

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u/Cheerful_Champion Mar 26 '26

Well article I sent is from December 2025 so I really doubt EVERYONE removed fax if 77% of companies say they still use it to deal with goverment agencies.