The Platform Effect Gap
Open source apps work — individually. But dominant suites win because they feel like one product: shared context, seamless workflows, unified experience. Individual excellence doesn't beat ecosystem cohesion.
EUROPEAN OPEN STANDARD
The European Standard for Workplace Orchestration
Unifying open source workplace apps into a true platform alternative to Microsoft 365
THE PROBLEM
The Workplace Tech Paradox
Europe now has serious open source workplace tools — email, docs, project management, video, chat. They're mature, deployable, and increasingly adopted. Yet dependency on dominant suites keeps growing.
Why? Not because the alternatives are bad — but because Microsoft and Google have something more: the platform effect.
- It's not "a software" — it's an interlocked ecosystem designed to work as one
- Leaving feels like a risk, not a project: cost, complexity, habits, continuity
- SSO across apps isn't enough — a shared login only produces an app catalog, not a platform
What's missing isn't better apps — it's the orchestration layer between them.
SSO Is Not a Platform
A single login across multiple tools sounds like progress — but it only produces an app catalog behind one door. What's missing is the orchestration layer: identity, rights, notifications, documents and workflows circulating between services.
Strategic Dependency
The lock-in isn't just budgetary — it's political. Roadmaps, integrations, and platform orientations are decided outside Europe, durably structuring organizations that have no seat at the table. Sovereignty requires infrastructure, not just intentions.
THE VISION
From Fragmentation to Unity
Open Buro orchestrates existing apps into a cohesive platform—no vendor lock-in, no rip-and-replace.
Universal Packaging
Standard app format. One registry. Any publisher can contribute.
Shared Navigation
Common home, unified app grid, global search. Users never lost.
Cross-App Data
Business objects flow between apps. Semantic graph connects knowledge.
Collective Identity
Organization-wide groups, permissions, presence. Manage once, apply everywhere.
Open Buro doesn't replace your apps. It makes them work together.
TWO PILLARS
Standard + Alliance
Technical orchestration meets ecosystem coordination
The Standard
Unified SSO with OIDC flow, standard app packaging format, centralized registry for discovery, common settings API for consistent UX. Publishers integrate once, users authenticate once.
Shared home screen, unified navigation bars, global app grid with search, cross-app command palette, integrated support system. Users navigate the platform, not individual apps.
Business object definitions (contacts, documents, tasks), cross-app event streaming, semantic knowledge graph, unified RAG/search APIs. Data flows between apps with context preserved.
Cross-service workspaces, threaded comments on any object, notification center aggregating all apps, shared presence and status. Collaboration transcends app boundaries.
Capability/intent casting (apps expose functions to platform), unified video conferencing, shared file picker, integrated image editing. Apps compose into workflows, AI agents orchestrate across tools.
Platform-level end-to-end encryption vault, granular permission models, audit logging, secure secret storage. Security is orchestrated, not fragmented across apps.
Flagship mobile app (iOS/Android) with embedded webviews, dedicated native apps for core tools, desktop client (Electron/Tauri), augmented browser extension. One platform, all devices.
The Alliance
A Manifesto
Open Buro exists to prevent European workplace fragmentation. Open source without orchestration creates chaos. We establish founding principles before code.
Open Governance
Neutral foundation structure modeled on Linux Foundation, CNCF. No single vendor controls the standard. Transparent decision-making, public roadmap.
Adoption Actions
Implementation support for publishers: reference architectures, migration guides, certification program. Alliance members don't just endorse—they implement.
International Visibility
European-scale promotion: conferences, government outreach, media relations. Make Open Buro the default assumption for workplace tech procurement.
Funding
Resource mobilization through member contributions, public grants (EU innovation funds), commercial services. Sustainable funding model ensures long-term viability.
"Code is Law... but Architecture is Politics"
— Open Buro founding principle
IN MOTION
Project Timeline
From vision to reality, tracking our progress
2025 Q2
Foundational work
La Suite x Twake.ai collaboration begins
2025 Q4
Advanced integration
La Suite x Twake.ai technical integration
2026 Q1
First specifications
Open Buro draft specifications published at FOSDEM
2026 Q2
Standard V1.0 publication
Official standard release and governance setup
2026 Q2
Alliance expansion
Growing membership across European markets
THE ECOSYSTEM
The Alliance
Growing the European open source workplace ecosystem together
LINAGORA
Twake.ai Platform
Founding Member
Enterprise collaboration platform powering La Suite numerique
DINUM
La Suite numerique
Founding Member
French government digital workplace for public sector
Your organization here
Your organization here
Your organization here
Join the Open Buro Alliance
Whether you're an open source publisher, institution, or enterprise, help us build the European alternative to proprietary workplace platforms.
LATEST NEWS
Latest News
Updates from the Open Buro project and Alliance
Feb 2026
When an Independent Observer Asks the Right Questions
An independent review crystallizes what European sovereign suites have been missing: not better apps, but better orchestration.
Read
Feb 2025
Open Buro Presented at FOSDEM 2025
The project was introduced to the open source community at Europe's largest developer conference.
Read
Juin 2025
La Suite numerique & Twake: Genesis of a Standard
How collaboration between French government and LINAGORA created the foundation for Open Buro.
Read