Local authorities are exploring the potential of autonomous digital work environments to gain greater control over technology and reduce reliance on external suppliers. This was outlined in a previous article on Digital Government. This real-world example helps illustrate what such a workplace might look like.
The case study on Opensourcewerken.nl (a Dutch-language government platform on open-source work) describes the development of the office environment ‘Mijn Bureau’ (‘My Office’). Acting on advice from the ICT Assessment Advisory Council, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) launched this alternative initiative in early 2025 to replace the existing Microsoft environment. Around 200 employees now work within this new setup.
Key insights from using Mijn Bureau
We summarised key insights from the Dutch-language case study in English:
- The project shows that an open-source workplace is technically feasible and popular with users, who are keen to drive change. However, moving away from vendor dependence and securing leadership support remains challenging.
- It proves that such a workplace is mature, scalable across government, and supports digital sovereignty, offering flexibility for custom features. The main hurdle is encouraging the market to provide managed services, as many organisations lack internal capacity.
- The initiative combines a technical model with a philosophy, surpassing expectations through collaboration and limited resources. Success depends more on organisational readiness than technology, requiring effective structuring and change management.
- A hybrid approach, combining open-source and established platforms, supports a gradual transition, with data consistency and cross-platform reliability being essential.
‘Mijn Bureau’ demonstrates that the technical capabilities are in place, but the emphasis must remain on organisational and collaborative best practices.
The full case study is available in Dutch on Opensourcewerken.nl/blog.
