Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

In the second quarter of 2025, public sector organizations around the world experienced an average of 2,632 weekly cyberattacks each, marking a 26% year-over-year increase. These are the 5 biggest cyberattacks in recent times that have severely impacted government operations, trust, and security.

In today's world, secure communication is essential rather than optional. That’s especially true for public institutions and critical infrastructure providers navigating increasing cyber threats and growing regulatory pressure. That’s why we’ve partnered with EBCONT, one of Austria’s leading IT service providers, to deliver end-to-end secure communication that’s compliant, sovereign and built for Europe.

Discover how public agencies can modernize oversight with monitoring and tracking tools that balance accountability, privacy, and operational security.

The recent incident involving the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist into a Signal group chat where US officials discussed sensitive military operations highlights the complexities governments face when using consumer messaging applications for official communications. Historically, various government administrations have used commercial messaging apps for official purposes. For example, Boris Johnson’s administration, and Macron’s team before France chose to standardise on Element.

Today, public sector collaboration isn’t just about staying connected, it’s about staying compliant. In this context, the Nordic public sector is undergoing a pivotal shift. Legacy systems are sunsetting, compliance requirements are evolving, and geopolitical risks are making data sovereignty a priority. The need for secure, compliant collaboration has never been greater.

I recently participated in discussions at Open Forum Europe’s EU Open Source Policy Summit, FOSDEM and Open UK’s State of Open conference. All of these discussions touched on how governments and open source vendors need to work together and, specifically, how public sector organisations can help fund open source development.

It feels as though 2024 was a year that highlighted the need for a new era of communications. To cite just a few examples, Russia intercepted German military discussions about providing Taurus missiles to Ukraine through a security lapse during a WebEx video conference call. A weakness exploited through a lack of interoperability between systems, and reliance on the unencrypted phone network to bridge the gap.

‍ Did you know that Estonia’s e-Government initiative helped save the country about 2% of its GDP annually? Such successful digital transformation in government initiatives helped reduce bureaucratic processes, streamline services, and more. Unfortunately, many countries still face challenges with outdated government software and digital systems. These put taxpayers at risk, which impedes service delivery, citizen trust, and transparency.

For governments across the globe, the shift to online services in place of manual service delivery promises not just a more efficient bureaucracy but a more open and accessible system for everyone. According to the 2023 OECD Digital Government Index, 70% of OECD countries have enhanced online service delivery, reflecting a strong shift towards citizen-centric digital interactions.

No one likes writing documentation, but everyone needs it—especially in government projects. Balancing the fast-paced world of innovation with the formal demands of government documentation is not easy for startups. Let’s explore common challenges on both sides—what organizations face and what government teams expect—and offers best practices on how to tackle them, keeping things agile and manageable.