France and Germany have unveiled a new collaborative writing and information-sharing service called Docs, designed as a homegrown alternative to Google Docs. This initiative, launched by France’s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs and Germany’s Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration, aims to enhance digital sovereignty for European businesses and agencies. Docs, which is currently in beta, emphasizes simplicity and security for users looking to transition away from U.S.-made products. The platform includes essential collaboration features such as real-time editing and offline mode, and it supports document exports in various formats including PDF and Word. As an open-source project, Docs is available for public use and collaboration, encouraging contributions from both public and private sectors.
Why do we care?
European businesses — especially public sector and regulated industries — are under increasing pressure to use European-origin software for security, privacy, and compliance reasons. If you’re serving European clients, this trend will materially impact solution design and vendor selection.
If Docs gains traction, IT services firms could build managed offerings around hosting, supporting, customizing, and integrating Docs — similar to how some MSPs offer managed Nextcloud or LibreOffice deployments.
Governments aren’t just encouraging digital sovereignty — they’re actively funding and building it. France and Germany didn’t just endorse an open-source alternative; they co-developed it. That’s a major shift: moving from policy statements to real product launches. Governments are no longer just regulators — they’re becoming software vendors and ecosystem builders. This shifts the power dynamics in IT and service provision.