Open Productivity: Six Open Source Vendors Form Joint Venture for openDesk
- An open alternative to proprietary office and collaboration solutions: Open Productivity aims to expand adoption of openDesk among businesses and critical infrastructure operators.
- Close support from the vendors: Open Productivity extends the model of collaboration with ZenDiS, established in public administration customer projects, to the private sector.
- A partner network for deployment and operations: Adfinis, the msg group, and Smile contribute expertise in consulting, migration, and systems integration.
Berlin, October 13, 2026 – The openDesk component vendors Collabora Productivity, Element, Nordeck, Open-Xchange, Univention, and XWiki have formed Open Productivity Software GmbH. The joint venture aims to expand adoption of openDesk, an office and collaboration suite, among businesses and critical infrastructure operators in international markets. The three launch partners Adfinis, the msg group, and Smile are supporting the company from the outset.
Open Productivity’s goal is to support the marketing of openDesk and the creation of a partner network for consulting, deployment, integration, and operations with product-specific expertise directly from the component vendors.
“Businesses need more than strong individual applications. They need to be able to deploy and reliably operate a complete digital workplace,” said Gerald Pfeifer, Managing Director of Open Productivity. “That takes collaboration that extends beyond individual projects. With Open Productivity, we are creating a shared corporate structure that brings six vendors’ expertise together for the long term.”
openDesk brings together established open source applications from different vendors into a sovereign digital workplace. With Open Productivity, six of the openDesk component vendors are now forming a joint venture: Collabora Productivity provides Collabora Office, a business-hardened, open-source office suite for collaborative document editing, Element provides real-time communications based on Matrix, Nordeck contributes communication tools, and Open-Xchange provides email and collaboration software. Univention provides centralized identity and access management, and XWiki contributes knowledge management capabilities. Also integrated into openDesk are Nextcloud, which offers file management and collaboration, and OpenProject for project planning and management.
Complementing ZenDiS’s offerings
In September 2026, ZenDiS launched an openDesk partner program focused on the private sector. Open Productivity addresses the growing enablement needs of IT service providers and customers outside the public sector. In coordination with ZenDiS, it provides support primarily through in-depth product, project, and migration expertise. This complements ZenDiS’s focus on public administration by giving businesses and international markets a way to engage jointly with most of the vendors behind openDesk.
Pamela Krosta-Hartl, Managing Director of ZenDiS, said: “We welcome the initiative of several openDesk vendors to support openDesk’s path into the enterprise market through Open Productivity. Open Productivity enables the distributors and systems integrators that ZenDiS is now addressing with its new partner program.”
Partners for deployment and ongoing operations
The Open Productivity partner model calls for a single point of contact for each customer project. This point of contact will provide consulting, migration, and integration services, support deployment, and deliver ongoing operational services. Planned deployment options include the customer’s own infrastructure and cloud environments.
Adfinis, an international open source specialist headquartered in Switzerland, brings experience in integrating and operating open source IT infrastructure.
“A digital workplace must perform reliably every day, not just at deployment,” said Gil Oliveira, Chief Commercial Officer at Adfinis. “That requires thoughtful integration, regular maintenance, and a thorough understanding of the underlying infrastructure. As a launch partner for Open Productivity, Adfinis brings its engineering expertise to accelerate deployment, reduce operational burden, and ensure smooth performance from day one.”
Enterprise requirements and international markets
With an international presence, the msg group adds industry expertise, consulting, and systems integration capabilities to the network, including experience serving critical infrastructure operators.
“Every industry has its own requirements for the digital workplace,” said Helmut Lämmermeier, Head of Business Unit Public Sector, msg. “Critical infrastructure operators in particular need to consider business processes, security, and existing systems together. We combine industry knowledge with technical implementation to integrate openDesk into our customers’ IT environments and support everyday collaboration among employees across their respective organizations.”
Smile, a French open source specialist, contributes experience in integrating open source software and a presence in multiple European markets.
“We strongly believe that digital autonomy can operationally become true with open technologies in business applications,” said Jean-Philippe Balança, Chief International Officer at Smile. “Digital autonomy takes shape through the concrete deployment and integration of high-performing solutions like openDesk across European markets. By joining Open Productivity, we combine our operational experience integrating open source solutions with a deep commitment to turning digital autonomy into day-to-day business results for our customers.”
About Open Productivity
Open Productivity is a joint venture founded by open source vendors Collabora Productivity, Element, Nordeck, Open-Xchange, Univention, and XWiki. Working closely with the Center for Digital Sovereignty in Public Administration (ZenDiS), the company promotes international adoption of openDesk, an open office and collaboration suite, among businesses and critical infrastructure operators.
Open Productivity combines the vendors’ software expertise with a partner network covering consulting, deployment, integration, and operations. Its goal is to give organizations greater choice in how they design and operate their digital workplaces and to strengthen their digital sovereignty.
About Dr. Gerald Pfeifer
Dr. Gerald Pfeifer is Managing Director of Open Productivity and brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of open source, enterprise technology, and community development. Before joining Open Productivity, he held various leadership positions at SUSE, including VP Products and Technology Programs and, most recently, CTO for EMEA. He has been actively involved in open source since before the term was coined in 1998, contributing to projects including GCC, FreeBSD, Wine, and LibreOffice. From 2019 to 2026, he also served as chair of the openSUSE project. Pfeifer holds a doctorate from Vienna University of Technology.
Press Contact
Open Productivity
Mercedes Celine Zaremba
Press Spokesperson
+49 421 222 32 12
press@open-productivity.eu