BioGeoBryce

I had a long discussion on #digitalsovereignty with our IT chief today after I complained openly about being forced to use Microsoft suite

I was informed that:
1) there is no #OpenSource alternative appropriate for a medium sized research institute like ours

2) my data privacy concerns were an ungrounded conspiracy theory

3) employees either don't want to use open alternatives to #USTech or are too inept to do so

4) open alternatives at the enterprise scale cost money and are therefore not competitive with Microsoft

5) partners in the #HorizonEU that I (will) coordinate need to offer their own solutions if they don't want to use #MSTeams

Happy #DIday y'all

Mar 5 at 11:45amWeb
Show threadProScience 🇪🇺Mar 5

@BioGeoBryce

Ugh.

Especially 2) is totally nuts.

Any chance to take it up with higher-ups?

Show threadBioGeoBryceMar 5
@proscience Yes, the discussion was instigated when IT read a question i added to a list preparing for the next all-hands meeting ;)
Show threadVicomte Folmer af HelvedeMar 5

@BioGeoBryce

"Or are onept to do so"?!?!?

What, all of a sudden university employees can't think?

Just saw that you need to be in the top 4% to be considered for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie post doc grants, so I have some trouble believing that IT chief 😬

Show threadBenMar 5
@BioGeoBryce An IT manager is the last to be useful in the choice for Digital Autonomy/Sovereignity. Such has to come from a CIO or the board of directors. Even they will wait until staying with Microsoft is not an option anymore.
Show threadRoger SchürchMar 5
@BioGeoBryce I found a tiny loophole that works for me on a very small scale. I was allowed to have the Windows Subsystem for Linux. On there, I can have my small little soverign realm. It's not great by any measure, but enough to keep my blood pressure in the normal range. I fear the day they take that from me.
Show threadAlexandre NetoMar 6
@schuemaa @BioGeoBryce Linux on the terminal, that's definitely a huge risk!! (Sarcasm)
Show threadErik Play2LearnMar 5
@BioGeoBryce Hope you don't let it pull you down too much, and thanks for the good work. Challenging people's false assumptions is an important part of the transformation work. Maybe after everyone calmed down again, a few weeks later, an opportunity will appear where some open alternatives can be applied or a more objective discussion can be had.
Show threadBioGeoBryceMar 5
@fallbackerik thanks and yes you are absolutely right about the need for level headed communication! It's harder when its a topic that I'm not just professionally but also personally invested in, and also when my (German) language skills are not 100% up to the task ;)
But yes, a cool-off and planned further discussions will hopefully lead to some progress!
Show threadBoerps ☑️Mar 5

@BioGeoBryce
Yes, we do:
https://www.goeuropean.org/#products-list

Teams -> Teamviewer
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/

Go European — Discover European products and services

Go European is a community-driven directory bringing you European products and services from across the continent.

Go European
Show threadNils Goroll 🕊️Mar 5

@BioGeoBryce good old times when it staff in science were leaders and role models… nowadays unis don't even run their own mail servers, back then their staff _wrote_ them.

in case you don't know the story, look up philip hazel and exim. he was unhappy about what was available, so he wrote a mail server. and he needed pattern matching. so he wrote pcre.

which now microslop use in basically every product. almost certainly including ms340