For years I’ve been trying out software alternatives that come from Europe or are Open Source. Some I use in my everyday life, with varying degrees of success. Lately, I’ve been asked more and more often what I’d suggest as, say, a European alternative for a project management tool, or what my experience with that kind of software has been.
Why the rising interest? There are a few political and economic reasons. US tech companies often lead the market with their products, but at the same time the desire for digital independence is growing. Where does my customers’ data live, who owns the platform, what happens when the rules change? Those used to be questions for the privacy-nerd corner. Now a lot more people care about them, in companies just as much as in private life.
And there’s something else: the global economy is shifting. Many countries, including within Europe, are looking more carefully at where their money goes and which economy it ends up supporting. Why not, then, pick European or local products more often, when they exist? But how good are these alternatives? Can I actually trust them? Will they meet my needs, and where are the gaps? Are the companies actually European, or are they backed by large venture capital firms, with a leadership team that ends up sitting in the US or China? Does that even matter?
These and many other questions interest me when it comes to European products. I want to share my reasons and trade-offs with you, here on this blog. As a general piece of advice, to anyone weighing software alternatives: ask yourself how far you want to go, what really matters to you, and what’s just a nice-to-have you could do without.
What you can expect, and what this blog is not
As a product manager who has spent years working in startups, I enjoy trying out software, and I’ll sometimes push through a rough system if I see real value at the end. That doesn’t mean everyone has to share that view. But I want to try to explain what I personally see as value, and where my frustration tips over.
I don’t write buying recommendations here. There are no sponsors, and I’m not looking for any. I’ll introduce you to software I use myself (for example, I run a self-hosted Nextcloud), and I’ll share experiences with systems I’m trying out. For video work, I’ve been testing the open-source tool Cap, for instance. There’ll be a post about that too. Because I’m building a company at the moment, I also test a lot of tools in the business context. Maybe I’ll share more in-depth business research in the future, or even conversations with founders. All possibilities. We’ll see how this project develops.
How this blog works
I’m really looking forward to sharing my experiences with you and hearing what you think. The blog is new and home-built, so there’s no comment function yet. I do share the posts on LinkedIn, and you can simply reach out via the contact form if you have questions or thoughts.