European Software, Strong Workplace: Our Favourites for the Job
There has been a lot of discussion recently about becoming more active in the use of European technology alternatives. A small internal survey at BusinessCode found that 55% of employees are thinking about switching to European technology alternatives in their personal lives. An impressive 90% of respondents believe that the organisation should use more European technology alternatives. The most popular reasons for switching to European technology alternatives are independence, data protection and security.
On this page we present a range of alternative European tools that are suitable for everyday use in the workplace.
Collaboration
Nextcloud offers a comprehensive solution for collaboration: With Nextcloud Office, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and drawings can be edited together. Nextcloud Talk enables chat, video calls and webinars. Calendars, contacts and emails are integrated into Nextcloud Groupware. A seamless connection to Microsoft Teams and Outlook is also possible.
OnlyOffice is an open-source tool that offers a full suite for document editing, including text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. It also includes project management features such as task tracking, deadlines, and Gantt charts, and integrates smoothly with platforms like Nextcloud.
Project Management
For a software company, awork is particularly useful as it offers several ways to display tasks, such as a Kanban board, a timeline or a list, and it also offers time tracking.
MeisterTask also offers a visual representation of task progress through a Kanban board and enables task planning and calendar integration.
Version Control Systems
Connections are encrypted with ECDSA and TLS 1.3, while at the same time enabling a high-performance solution.
Codeberg is a non-profit service that is guaranteed to work without tracking and without third-party cookies.
All data, code and IPs are stored on European servers – GitLabHost provides fully managed, single-server, on-site GitLab hosting.
AI Chatbots
Le Chat is an advanced, AI-powered conversational assistant that places particular emphasis on data protection, transparency and local data processing. It provides intelligent, intuitive answers and integrates seamlessly into European digital services – ideal for users looking for a secure and regionally tailored AI solution.
Search Engines
Ecosia is a search engine that uses Bing’s technology and directs its profits to tree-planting projects around the world. It does not create personal profiles, anonymises search data after a short time, and runs its servers on renewable energy.
Qwant is a search engine that does not track its users or personalise results based on search history. It uses its own indexing technology combined with results from Bing, and stores no personal data or search history.