European Commission Staff Really Dislike Their ‘Sovereign’ Alternative to Microsoft Teams: Report

The European Commission (EC), the European Union’s executive branch, uses Microsoft Teams, like anyone who wears a suit to work has to. It’s also rolled out what it calls a “sovereign back-up,” and officials say it’s “absolute shit,” according to Politico.

That platform is Element Pro, a collaboration software for governments and public sector entities that is designed by a London-based company of the same name. It’s understandable that the EC might be wary of totally relying on American software in an era of tense US-EU relations—the EC accepted commitments to end a massive antitrust probe into Microsoft’s Teams sales practices in Europe just last year. Yet in an apparent concession to the obvious difficulty they would face finding a European replacement for Teams, the EC has only rolled out Element as an “internal back-up,” Politico reported.

There’s no indication anyone was forced to use the tool, but it’s being trialed and got very…