Guest article: ZenDiS shows how modern digital public administration works

At its booth, visitors can try out openDesk, the office and collaboration suite for public administration, live. There will also be answers to key questions about digital sovereignty: What role does open source play? How can the administration successfully implement open source projects? And: Where do you actually start with digital sovereignty?

The German administration has identified the digital workplace as a central anchor point for digital sovereignty. That is why ZenDiS was commissioned to develop its own sovereign office and collaboration suite. The result celebrated its premiere at the Smart Country Convention 2024: openDesk. ZenDiS and its partners launched openDesk in record time. The solution includes all the standard functions required by a digital workplace: word processing, spreadsheets, document management, email client, contact and project management, a knowledge solution, video conferencing, file storage, and sharing functions. With over 70,000 active enterprise licenses, openDesk has made a name for itself in public administration and across Europe within just a few months – and continues to enjoy high demand.

Anyone who would like to see openDesk and its features for themselves can do so at the ZenDiS stand. From trying it out to asking questions to the manufacturers of the integrated components and getting user tips, everything is possible. There will also be a pilot station where we will present a completely sovereign workplace (operating system and applications) for visitors to try out. Perhaps this is what the digital workplace of the future will look like?

Also exclusive to the ZenDiS booth is a preview of openConference. With openConference, the German administration will have its own secure and sovereign video conferencing solution for the first time. The solution is expected to be available later this year. The development team will answer initial questions at SCCON.

In addition to classic applications, ZenDiS also provides the basic infrastructure for a digitally sovereign state. Open source is a key lever for digital sovereignty – and open source projects thrive on being developed and shared collaboratively. For the German administration, openCode.de is the foundation for this. On the platform, users will find a software directory with over 3,000 open source solutions that are available for reuse by the public sector. Developers discuss and share their knowledge in forums. In the background, the openCode team works on making software evaluable: With the openCode badge program, software can be checked for reusability, maintenance, and security with just a few clicks. This makes open source software easy to evaluate and compare – and is therefore an important decision-making aid for its use.

If you are serious about digital sovereignty and want to get started, the ZenDiS booth is the right place for you: we look forward to talking to everyone from beginners to experts.