PoC BOSS

The BOSS feasibility study was launched to strengthen digital sovereignty in the area of office automation through the use of open-source software. The Federal Administration is conducting a proof of concept (PoC) project to evaluate how to implement emergency office automation and the secure processing of sensitive information.

This PoC includes a practical evaluation with a test infrastructure and participation by employees of the Federal Administration. Representatives from all departments are actively involved in gathering requirements and acting as test users, with the aim of giving the project as broad a base as possible.

The increasing dependence on proprietary software solutions poses strategic challenges for organisations, particularly in public administration. The BOSS PoC addresses this issue by examining how to use open source software as a way to strengthen digital sovereignty and ensure operational capacity.

The aim is to test an independent, open source office automation solution that will provide reliable support for critical business processes even in crisis situations. The feasibility of the exit strategy for the CEBA project (rollout of Microsoft 365 in the Federal Administration) will also be reviewed.

The project takes a practical approach and focuses on two central business cases:

Emergency solution: ensuring operational capability under crisis conditions without dependence on proprietary systems (especially in the public cloud)
Secure processing: development of a sustainable solution for the secure processing of sensitive information in a data centre belonging to the federal government

What the BOSS PoC will not do

It will not replace Microsoft 365
It will not provide 1:1 mapping of Microsoft 365 functionality
It will not ensure complete interoperability with other systems and Microsoft 365
It is not a precursor to developing a productive environment (the infrastructure is temporary and will be dismantled after the PoC)

Innovation
The BOSS PoC relies on the innovative power of the open source community and uses existing expertise from public administration. Dialogue with the German Centre for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS), the institution responsible for the digitally sovereign workplace openDesk, plays an important role. The project also incorporates insights gained from sources such as parliamentary discussions, in order to make the best possible use of strategic framework conditions.

Project planning
The BOSS PoC is being developed and implemented in phases.

2024: BOSS PoC concept design and technical feasibility study.
2025/2026: Implementation of BOSS PoC environment; evaluation (including a broad user-acceptance test) and assessment
End result: report and recommendations for action

Once the PoC has been concluded, the report and recommendations for action can be used to make strategic decisions on future development and possible implementation in existing business processes.

Strategic approach
Strengthening digital sovereignty is Priority 4 of the Digital Federal Administration Strategy. Based on this overarching strategic objective, the use of open source software alternatives was defined as an area for action in the Office Automation Strategy and measures were defined for it. These measures are now being implemented in the BOSS PoC.

Technology and open source products

The BOSS PoC is based on openDesk, which is 100% open source and published in the opencode.de repository. ZenDiS is the product owner of openDesk and determines its roadmap in accordance with the needs of public administration. ZenDiS is a limited liability company that is wholly owned by the public sector.

openDesk is a sovereign and comprehensive workplace solution that can be accessed via web browser. In addition, rich clients (Windows and Linux) are used to test aspects such as offline capability and more convenient operation.

The chart below shows the openDesk functions that will be tested.

Document editing (text, tables, presentations, etc.); Product: Collabora Online
E-Mail; Product: Open-Xchange
Calendar, contacts, tasks; Product: Open-Xchange
File storage; Product: Next Cloud
Project management; Product: OpenProject
Knowledge management (wiki); Product: XWiki
Audio- and videoconferencing; Product: Nordeck (Jitsi)
Chat; Product: Element
Identity and access management; Product: Univention

These technologies are being evaluated as part of the BOSS PoC for their usability, practicality, scalability and security features. This is to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Federal Administration.