You'd swear from the over-the-top reactions that someone is threatening to take European Commission workers' dogs out back and shoot them. Why the freakout? Because the EC is deploying a self-hosted alternative to Microsoft Teams to keep staff communicating if Microsoft's service becomes unavailable. To be clear, the Commission isn't replacing Teams with Element Pro; it's setting up a backup. That's it. That's all. But according to a Politico report, users are having fits. Element is "absolute shit," rants one. Another proclaims: "The US would 'instantly win the war' if it ever decided to switch off its technology." Uh, guy, that's exactly the point. If US providers cut off European users, whether by choice or government order, many EU governments and companies would face serious disruption. That's exactly why Europe needs an open source, sovereign backup. That's the entire point of this exercise. Take away all the hysteria, and you're left with a rather mundane business-continuity initiative. Don't think for a minute that Trump wouldn't have a snit and order tech giants to block services to officials. Just ask Kimberly Prost, a Canadian International Criminal Court judge, who, besides losing tech services, also lost her credit cards, access to Amazon and Google services. "Alexa wouldn't talk to me," she says – punishment indeed. Now imagine Russia and its allies start attacking the Baltic states. Oh, wait, Putin is already doing that. Then it gets heated, and Trump decides to side with his good friend Putin. What happens to American tech companies' services in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? I can answer that in two words: "Nothing good." That said, the EC of course is not dumping Microsoft services. No, it has configured Element Pro to run on the Commission's own infrastructure. An internal memo described the service as an "internal backup" that gives the EU's executive branch an alternative channel for internal messaging, audio and video calls, file transfers, and project discussion rooms. Let me spell it out for you. This is a Commission initiative. It's not an EU-wide order to abandon Microsoft software. I'd love that myself, but that's not what's happening here. Teams will remain the principal platform, while Element provides a fallback intended to reduce dependence on an externally operated communications service. Got it? I hope so! Mind you, there are other good reasons to dump Microsoft Teams. I'm not a fan. For my sins I have to use it and every other groupware program out there. And, I might add, I've been using them since Lotus Notes rolled out the door in 1990. Digital sovereignty isn't just a good idea. It's essential. Or, as an EC July staff memo put it: "In practice, this means having greater control over our data and systems so that we can reduce risks and limit disruption to our work, wherever possible." Exactly so. Element's architecture is well suited to digital sovereignty. Built on Matrix, an open standard for real-time communications, the platform supports self-hosting, decentralized operation, and interoperability with other Matrix-based systems. Element also supports end-to-end encrypted messaging and calls. You see, the sovereignty argument isn't just about getting an EU-based technology stack. After all, Element is a British company. No, what really makes Element a winner for the EC is that it's mature groupware that lets them deploy and run the system on their own infrastructure rather than relying on Microsoft's cloud. As for the crybaby users, suck it up. No one ever likes change. If the EC switches over to Element lock, stock, and barrel, I suspect much of today's outrage will be forgotten in six months. I've seen this time and time again. Some short-term inconvenience is a reasonable price for greater control over essential communications in an uncertain world. A complete switch isn't the plan now. I think it should be. ® Bootnote Element told The Register: "Governments and defense organizations are migrating to sovereign alternatives to ensure they can still operate effectively in extreme circumstances. As IT strategy and IT functions move quickly, less adaptive end-users may well feel discomfort as the US Big Tech solutions they've been used to are replaced by sovereign alternatives. Hopefully this is the largest inconvenience most people experience over the coming decade. "We've only had positive and constructive feedback from our actual customers; the leaders and IT functions that are driving sovereignty. "There's inevitably a few unhappy change-resistant users in large deployments, but we work in lockstep with our customers to gather feedback and incorporate it, especially during the trial phase. From what we see in the field, open source alternatives like Element are ready for primetime as a much needed alternative to dependency on the big tech vendors."
