This week, I participated in a panel discussion on the topic **"Open Source as a tool for more independence"** for public organizations. The closing question was borrowed from a German politician who had given a talk earlier at the event. He asked: **"Are there some areas where we should not migrate to Open Source?"**

My short answer was *"No."*
However, I feel the need to elaborate a bit more.

Often, this question implies that there might be technical, stability, or security reasons why Open Source wouldn't be suitable for certain use cases. But Open Source is simply a licensing model. There's no inherent reason why software is less stable, secure, or well-written just because it is licensed under an Open Source model. So yes — *"no"* remains my answer.

That said, a more practical and valid question would be: **"Where should I start when moving to Open Source?"**

It’s important to think strategically about where to begin and what the second or third steps might be in the journey toward greater digital sovereignty. A good approach is to start with software that has few or no external dependencies and can be migrated independently. Software with many interdependencies should be addressed later.

Think of your software ecosystem as a tree, where each piece of software is connected and dependent on others. A successful migration project should start with the *leaves* — the independent components — and then gradually move toward the *root*. This way, results and first positive experiences can be gathered quickly.

#OpenSource #FreeSoftware #Migration #DigitalSovereignty #publicOrganizations