Microsoft ends Office 2021 support: Commentary on forced cloud migration and vendor lock-in (heise.de)

• Microsoft ends Office 2021 support on 13 October 2026; price increases for Microsoft 365 from July 2026.
• German federal Microsoft license spending exceeded €200 million in 2024, up 180% since 2017.
• Schleswig-Holstein saves €15 million annually via open-source migration; Bavaria cancels billion-euro deal.

"Microsoft is ending support for Office 2021, pressuring users to migrate to Microsoft 365. Frank Karlitschek's commentary criticizes this forced migration, rising costs, and dependency. It cites German federal spending exceeding €200 million on Microsoft licenses in 2024 and successful open-source migrations in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria."