Officials Slam EU's Microsoft Teams Alternative as 'Sh*t'
The Commission introduced Element Pro to keep staff connected if Microsoft Teams becomes unavailable, but officials believe the service isn't ready and that the U.S. would “instantly win the war” if it chose to cut off its technology.
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The European Commission’s effort to protect its communications from a potential loss of U.S. technology has drawn scathing staff reviews, with one official calling its Microsoft Teams backup “absolute sh*t.”
Another official, comparing the two applications, said Washington would “instantly win the war” if it chose to cut access to its technology, according to internal exchanges reviewed by POLITICO.
The complaints expose doubts within the institution about whether its new fallback can perform the role assigned to it.
Teams continues to handle the Commission’s main communications.
A Backup for Disruption
Element Pro was introduced over the summer to keep Commission staff communicating should Teams become unavailable. An internal memo described it as a “sovereign back-up to Teams.”
The system runs on infrastructure controlled by the Commission rather than Microsoft’s cloud.
That arrangement gives the institution greater control over its communications systems and data.
Staff can use Element Pro for calls, file transfers and project discussions organized into rooms, functions comparable to those available through Teams.
But three officials challenged either the rationale for introducing the application or its ability to provide a dependable fallback.
One questioned what additional value it offered. The officials quoted by POLITICO spoke anonymously.
A separate staff comment defended the greater control provided by hosting the system internally, questioning the assurances surrounding Microsoft’s handling of communications data.
Developer Defends the Trial
Matthew Hodgson, chief executive of U.K.-based Element, told POLITICO that the Commission was still trialing the software.
He attributed some dissatisfaction to early rollout problems and the difficulty of adjusting to an unfamiliar application after extensive use of Teams.
Element was supporting the transition and wanted feedback from staff, he said.
Hodgson also pointed to the United Nations and NATO as users of Element Pro.
An Element spokesperson said the Commission had asked the company to withhold certain subscription details from POLITICO.
The Commission did not immediately answer requests for comment.
Europe Seeks Greater Control
The rollout forms part of the Commission’s effort to limit dependence on U.S. technology.
A July staff memo linked that objective to greater control over data and systems and reducing disruption to institutional work.
Other European public bodies are pursuing similar changes. France announced plans for millions of civil servants to leave American video-conferencing services, including Teams and Zoom, by 2027.
Austria’s military replaced Microsoft Office with LibreOffice last year.
Ahmet Koçak
Ahmet Koçak is a news editor at Clash Report based in Istanbul. He previously served as Deputy Managing Editor at Türkiye Today, helping launch the digital news platform in 2023, and spent three years as Senior Editor at Daily Sabah. His work focuses on breaking news, geopolitics, international affairs, and digital journalism.
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