Microsoft 365 alternative: what France's Court of Audit says and how to prepare

By Mouhamed BANKOLE, CEO at ITNET Technologies · Updated October 28, 2026 · Reading time: 10 min

On October 22, 2026, France's Court of Audit published a report on "office and collaboration tools within the State", recommending a migration plan of three to four years at most towards shared government tools (Court of Audit report). It finds that the Microsoft Office suite remains the dominant standard in French ministries and estimates the State would avoid up to €130M of spending per year with a free, cloud-based suite run internally or qualified SecNumCloud (Court of Audit). If you run a small business, an agency or a freelance practice, the same question applies to you: is there a credible Microsoft 365 alternative, and where should you start? Here is what the report says, what is established or only announced, and a practical plan to prepare a change of tools without breaking anything.

In short

• The French Court of Audit published a report on October 22, 2026 urging the State to reduce its dependence on proprietary office tools, Microsoft Office first.
• It recommends a multi-year migration plan of three to four years at most towards shared government tools, including La Suite built by DINUM.
• Nothing becomes mandatory for businesses: the report covers French State administrations, not the private sector.
• For a small business, the useful approach is the same: take stock of your tools, keep control of your domain name and email, test an alternative on a limited scope.
• Microsoft 365 alternatives exist tool by tool: email on your own domain, file sharing (Nextcloud), a free office suite, video calls and team chat.

Contents

1. What does the October 22, 2026 Court of Audit report say?
2. How much does office software cost the French State?
3. What does the Court of Audit recommend?
4. What is established, announced or still uncertain?
5. What does this change for a small business or a freelancer?
6. Which Microsoft 365 alternatives exist, tool by tool?
7. What should you do before changing tools?
8. How do you migrate your email without losing messages?
9. Should you host your tools yourself or use a provider?

What does the October 22, 2026 Court of Audit report say?

The report concludes that the French State remains highly dependent on the Microsoft Office suite and calls for a gradual move to free, shared government tools. It covers central and local State administrations, about 860,000 workstations, excluding State agencies (Court of Audit).

The main findings:

• Microsoft Office remains the standard in ministries (Court of Audit);
• using Microsoft 365 has been banned since 2021 in the administration, with temporary exemptions for some (Court of Audit);
• the national gendarmerie (DGGN) and the tax administration (DGFiP) have already chosen free software for their office tools (Court of Audit);
• La Suite, developed since 2023 by DINUM, the State's digital agency, has tools that are now mandatory but still need improvement (Court of Audit);
• staff are generally satisfied with their tools, free or proprietary, and mainly expect support with the change.

How much does office software cost the French State?

The Court estimates spending on office and collaboration tools at €100M in 2025, up sharply since 2021, with more than half going to licences (Court of Audit). This remains under 2% of the State's IT budget according to the same source (Court of Audit).

Localtis adds that adopting free software hosted on ministries' own servers, as the Economy and Interior ministries have done, would save €30M to €65M per year (Localtis). These amounts are the Court's estimates, and the Court itself points out that ministry data is incomplete.

What does the Court of Audit recommend?

The Court recommends involving ministries in La Suite from 2027, bringing office tools under shared government governance and planning a migration over three to four years at most (Court of Audit).

The three highlighted recommendations:

1. involve ministries more closely, from 2027, in La Suite's roadmap (Court of Audit);
2. bring office and collaboration tools under the shared governance led by DINUM;
3. plan a multi-year migration, over three to four years at most (Court of Audit).

According to Localtis, the Prime Minister "welcomes" these recommendations (Localtis).

What is established, announced or still uncertain?

The findings and recommendations are established; the migration timeline is a recommendation, not a decision. Separate the three levels before drawing conclusions for your business.

Our analysis: nothing forces a private company to leave Microsoft 365. However, web agencies, IT service firms and contractors working for the public sector have every reason to be comfortable with free tools and open formats.

What does this change for a small business or a freelancer?

Legally, nothing: the report only covers the French State. But it puts back on the table a question every business can ask itself: how dependent it is on a single provider for its email, files and documents.

What to look at in your own setup:

• licence costs, which grow with the number of users;
• ownership of your domain name: it is what lets you change email provider without changing addresses;
• where your data is stored and which law applies to the provider;
• your document formats: open formats (ODF) or proprietary ones;
• your team's skills and the support time needed.

Pro tip: first check that your domain name is registered in your company's name and that you manage its DNS zone. Without that, no email migration is simple.

Which Microsoft 365 alternatives exist, tool by tool?

There is no single replacement, but there is an alternative for each building block: email, files, office suite, video calls and chat. You can switch one at a time.

Things to keep in mind:

• compatibility of complex documents (macros, advanced layouts) must be tested;
• a self-hosted tool needs regular updates and backups;
• email is the easiest component to switch if you own your domain;
• Nextcloud covers several components (files, calendar, contacts, and online office editing with an add-on).

What should you do before changing tools?

Start with an inventory and a limited test, not a big-bang switch: that is also the logic of the multi-year plan the Court recommends.

The six-step approach:

1. list your tools and what each team really uses;
2. spot strong dependencies: Excel macros, integrations, business software;
3. take back control of your domain and DNS zone;
4. pick a first component to test, often file sharing or email;
5. run a pilot with a small team, keeping the old tool in parallel;
6. decide component by component, with a schedule and training for each switch.

If you want to test Nextcloud or an online office suite on your own server, a Wayhost VPS offers full root access, a choice of Linux distributions and automatic backups or snapshots from your customer area (checked on October 28, 2026).

How do you migrate your email without losing messages?

Create the new mailboxes, copy the history over IMAP, then switch your domain's MX records: addresses stay the same and email keeps arriving.

The steps:

1. create the mailboxes at the new provider with the same addresses;
2. copy old emails over IMAP (import tool or email client);
3. lower the time-to-live (TTL) of your MX records a few days before the switch;
4. change the MX records in your domain's DNS zone;
5. update SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the new provider;
6. keep the old service running while you check that everything arrives.

Our article on DKIM and SPF details the authentication records to publish. With Wayhost professional email, you create addresses on your own domain name, with activation advertised in a few minutes (checked on October 28, 2026), and you manage the zone from the DNS interface of your domain names.

Should you host your tools yourself or use a provider?

Host them yourself if you have the skills and time to maintain the service; otherwise, use a provider, ideally one that keeps your domain and data easy to take back.

In every case, keep three habits: your domain name in your own name, regular exports of your data and open formats for your documents. To understand what an address in your own name brings, read our guide to professional email.

Frequently asked questions

Do businesses have to leave Microsoft 365 after this report?

No. The Court of Audit report only covers French State administrations. It imposes nothing on private companies, but it sheds light on cost and dependence questions every business can ask.

What is the best Microsoft 365 alternative?

There is no single one. Most organisations combine email on their own domain, a sharing tool such as Nextcloud and a free office suite. The right choice depends on your uses and skills.

What is La Suite numérique?

It is a set of office and collaboration tools built by DINUM for French State staff. The Court of Audit recommends involving ministries more closely in its roadmap.

Can I keep my email address when changing provider?

Yes, if the address uses your own domain name. You create the mailboxes at the new provider and change the MX records. An address on gmail.com or outlook.com cannot be transferred.

Can Nextcloud replace OneDrive and SharePoint?

For storing, sharing and syncing files, yes. With an online office add-on, it also lets several people edit documents together. You need a server, updates and backups.

How long should you plan to change office tools?

It depends on team size and dependencies. The Court of Audit recommends a plan of three to four years at most for the State; a small business can move faster by switching one component at a time.

Do Word documents open in LibreOffice?

Yes, LibreOffice opens and saves Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. Simple documents go through without trouble; macros and complex layouts must be tested before any switch.

Key takeaways

• The French Court of Audit published a report on October 22, 2026 urging the State to end its dependence on proprietary office tools.
• The report does not apply to businesses, but it raises a useful question for any small company: relying on a single provider.
• Microsoft 365 alternatives exist component by component: email, files, office suite, video calls, chat.
• A domain name in your own name is what lets you change email provider without changing addresses.
• Work through an inventory and a pilot, one component at a time, with the old tool in parallel.

To start with the easiest component, explore Wayhost professional email on your own domain name.

Article written by Mouhamed BANKOLE, CEO at ITNET Technologies.