OpenSpec for the Digital Sovereign Workplace

The Workplace You Actually Want

Imagine a digital workplace where:

• Your data stays in your jurisdiction, protected by your laws, not subject to extraterritorial surveillance
• You own the code running your business operations, not a vendor who can change terms unilaterally
• Every service integrates seamlessly with every other service through documented, verifiable specifications
• Costs decrease over time instead of scaling linearly with user count
• Innovation happens at the edge through community collaboration, not locked behind vendor NDAs
• Compliance is inherent in the architecture, not a costly add-on
• You can leave anytime with your data, your customizations, and your dignity intact

This is not a fantasy. This is the Digital Sovereign Workplace, and it exists today.

The openDesk Edu OpenSpec is a complete specification framework that makes this vision achievable for educational institutions, public administrations, and any organization serious about digital sovereignty.

What is the Digital Sovereign Workplace?

A Digital Sovereign Workplace is an organizational computing environment that:

1. Controls its own destiny: No vendor can unilaterally change features, pricing, or terms
2. Protects its data: Information stays within chosen jurisdictions, subject to chosen laws
3. Operates transparently: All code is auditable, all decisions are documented
4. Scales sustainably: Costs grow with infrastructure, not with per-seat licensing
5. Adapts flexibly: Components can be replaced, modified, or extended as needs evolve
6. Collaborates openly: Benefits from and contributes to global knowledge commons

The Alternative: Digital Dependency

The opposite of sovereignty is digital dependency:

• Vendor lock-in: Proprietary formats make migration nearly impossible
• Data extraction: Your data lives in vendor servers, subject to vendor policies
• Black-box operations: You can't see how your tools work or audit their security
• Escalating costs: Per-seat pricing grows faster than your budget
• Feature dependency: Critical features can be removed without notice
• Compliance burden: Continuous legal review required for changing privacy regulations

Most organizations today operate in digital dependency, not digital sovereignty.

The OpenSpec Framework: Specifications as Foundation

The OpenSpec framework is the foundation that makes Digital Sovereign Workplaces possible. It provides:

What is an OpenSpec?

An OpenSpec (Open Specification) is a comprehensive, machine-verifiable description of a digital system that includes:

• Purpose: What the system does and why
• Scope: What's included and what's explicitly excluded
• Requirements: Functional and non-functional requirements with testable scenarios
• Dependencies: What the system needs from other systems
• Service Level Objectives (SLOs): Availability, latency, and error rate targets
• Disaster Recovery: RPO/RTO targets and recovery procedures
• Security Context: Authentication, authorization, and security requirements
• Integration Points: How the system connects to other systems

Why Specifications Matter

Without comprehensive specifications, organizations face:

• Knowledge silos: Only a few people understand how systems work
• Vendor dependency: Proprietary documentation locks you in
• Operational chaos: Inconsistent practices across services
• Compliance gaps: Missing documentation for audits
• Onboarding challenges: New staff take months to become productive

With comprehensive OpenSpecs, organizations gain:

• Shared understanding: Everyone knows how systems work
• Vendor independence: Open specifications enable migration
• Operational excellence: Standardized practices improve reliability
• Compliance readiness: Documentation available for audits
• Faster onboarding: New staff productive in weeks, not months

The openDesk Edu OpenSpec: A Case Study in Digital Sovereignty

The openDesk Edu OpenSpec is the most comprehensive example of the OpenSpec framework applied to a real-world digital workplace. It specifies 25 integrated open-source services serving educational institutions.

Scope: 25 Services, 58 Specifications

The OpenSpec covers:

25 Service Specifications: One per integrated service (Nextcloud, Moodle, Keycloak, etc.) 17 Platform Specifications: Cross-cutting concerns (security, backup, monitoring, etc.) 6 Integration Specifications: Cross-service workflows and APIs 10 Registry Documents: Service interconnections, coverage statistics, etc.

Total: 58 specification files describing a complete digital workplace.

The Five Pillars of the OpenSpec

Every service specification in openDesk Edu follows a five-pillar structure:

Pillar 1: Purpose & Scope

• What the service does
• What's explicitly included
• What's explicitly excluded
• Boundaries and limitations

Pillar 2: Requirements

• Functional requirements with BDD-style scenarios
• Non-functional requirements (performance, scalability)
• User stories and use cases
• Acceptance criteria

Pillar 3: Dependencies & Integration

• Required infrastructure (databases, storage, cache)
• Authentication and authorization requirements
• Integration points with other services
• Data flow and API contracts

Pillar 4: Service Level Objectives

• Availability targets (e.g., 99.9% uptime)
• Latency targets (e.g., <100ms P95)
• Error rate thresholds
• Capacity planning metrics
• Alert thresholds

Pillar 5: Disaster Recovery

• Recovery Point Objective (RPO): Maximum acceptable data loss
• Recovery Time Objective (RTO): Maximum acceptable downtime
• Backup strategy and retention
• Recovery procedures and order
• Failure scenarios and mitigation

The Result: 100% Compliance

Using the Ralph Loop methodology, we achieved 100% compliance across all 25 services:

Specification Pillar	Coverage
Purpose & Scope	25/25 (100%)
Dependencies	25/25 (100%)
SLOs	25/25 (100%)
Disaster Recovery	25/25 (100%)

Total: ~3,000 lines of operational documentation added across 25 services.

The Sovereign Workplace Architecture

The Digital Sovereign Workplace architecture has three layers:

Layer 1: Infrastructure Foundation

Sovereign Infrastructure:

• On-premise or private cloud deployment
• German/EU jurisdiction for data
• Full control over hardware and networking
• No dependence on US cloud providers

Kubernetes-Native:

• Container orchestration with K3s/K8s
• GitOps with ArgoCD for declarative deployments
• Helm charts for application packaging
• Helmfile for multi-environment orchestration

Storage & Backup:

• Ceph for distributed storage (RBD for databases, CephFS for files)
• S3-compatible backup storage
• k8up for restic-based backups
• 15-minute RPO, 1-hour RTO for critical services

Layer 2: Identity & Integration

Single Sign-On Everywhere:

• Keycloak as central identity provider
• SAML 2.0 and OIDC for authentication
• LDAP for user directory
• DFN-AAI integration for federated identity
• One password for all 25 services

Cross-Service Integration:

• 80+ documented service relationships
• WOPI protocol for document editing
• LTI 1.1 for LMS integration
• Intercom service for cross-app SSO
• Standardized APIs and data formats

Layer 3: Application Services

The 25 Services organized by function:

Productivity & Collaboration:

• Nextcloud (file storage, 5TB quota)
• Collabora Online (document editing)
• Etherpad (real-time text editing)
• CryptPad (end-to-end encrypted editing)
• Notes (collaborative note-taking with AI)
• Draw.io (diagrams)
• Excalidraw (whiteboards)
• BookStack (documentation)

Communication:

• OX App Suite or SOGo (email, calendar, contacts)
• Dovecot-Postfix (email infrastructure)
• Element (Matrix-based messaging)
• Zammad (helpdesk and ticketing)
• LimeSurvey (surveys)

Learning & Knowledge:

• ILIAS or Moodle (learning management)
• BigBlueButton (online classes)
• Jitsi (video conferencing)
• XWiki (enterprise wiki)
• TYPO3 (content management)

Management & Planning:

• OpenProject (project management)
• Planka (Kanban boards)
• Self-Service Password (password reset)
• Nubus (identity management)

The Economic Reality: 80-90% Cost Reduction

Let's talk numbers. For a 500-person organization:

Traditional SaaS Approach

Service	Annual Cost (500 users)
Microsoft 365 Business Premium	€132,000
Google Workspace Enterprise	€96,000
Zoom Business	€75,000
Slack Business+	€96,000
Dropbox Business	€60,000
Service Desk	€30,000
Total SaaS	€489,000/year

Digital Sovereign Workplace

Component	Annual Cost
Infrastructure (servers, networking)	€30,000
Personnel (0.5 FTE sysadmin)	€40,000
Power, cooling, colocation	€8,000
Training and documentation	€3,000
Total Sovereign	€81,000/year

Savings: €408,000/year (83% reduction)

Over 5 years: €2,040,000 saved

And these costs decrease as:

• Infrastructure becomes more efficient
• Community contributions improve the platform
• Personnel expertise reduces operational overhead
• No vendor price increases

GDPR and Compliance by Design

The Digital Sovereign Workplace doesn't bolt on compliance—it builds it in.

GDPR Article Compliance

GDPR Article	Requirement	Sovereign Workplace Implementation
Art. 5 (Principles)	Data minimization, purpose limitation	Data stays on-premise, minimal collection
Art. 17 (Right to erasure)	Ability to delete user data	Full data control, no vendor dependencies
Art. 20 (Data portability)	Export data in standard formats	Open formats (PDF, ODF, CSV, JSON)
Art. 25 (Privacy by design)	Build privacy into systems	OpenSpec includes privacy requirements
Art. 32 (Security)	Appropriate technical measures	Network policies, seccomp, encryption
Art. 33 (Breach notification)	Report breaches within 72 hours	Full audit logs, transparent operations

Beyond GDPR: Sovereignty Advantages

Legal Sovereignty:

• Data subject to your jurisdiction's laws
• No CLOUD Act exposure
• No extraterritorial surveillance
• Protection from foreign legal demands

Technical Sovereignty:

• Full code auditability (Apache-2.0, AGPL-3.0)
• No hidden data collection
• Verifiable security implementations
• Community security audits

Operational Sovereignty:

• No vendor can disable your service
• No vendor can increase prices unilaterally
• No vendor can change features without your input
• No vendor can lock you in

The Continuous Self-Improvement Agent

A key innovation of the openDesk Edu OpenSpec is the continuous self-improvement agent that runs as a GitLab CI scheduled pipeline.

How It Works

The agent executes four stages:

1. Audit: Scan all OpenSpec files, check required sections, validate cross-references, detect inconsistencies, generate gap report
2. Improve: Generate patches for auto-fixable issues, create new branch with improvements, commit with clear attribution
3. Report: Generate human-readable markdown, include coverage statistics, list detailed gaps
4. Notify: Create merge request via GitLab API, include audit results, add review checklist

Why Continuous Improvement Matters

Traditional Approach: Quarterly or annual documentation reviews

• Issues accumulate for months
• Large, disruptive rewrites
• High cost, low frequency

Continuous Approach: Weekly automated audits

• Issues detected within days
• Small, incremental improvements
• Low cost, high frequency

Result: Documentation quality maintained automatically, preventing regression.

Who Needs a Digital Sovereign Workplace?

Educational Institutions 🏛️

Universities and schools face unique challenges:

• Students and faculty need collaboration tools
• Research data requires protection
• GDPR compliance is mandatory
• Budgets are constrained
• Long-term preservation is required

The openDesk Edu OpenSpec provides a proven template for educational sovereignty.

Public Administrations 🏛️

Government agencies must:

• Protect citizen data
• Comply with public sector transparency
• Avoid vendor lock-in
• Maintain service continuity
• Operate within budget constraints

The OpenSpec framework applies equally to government digital workplaces.

Healthcare Organizations 🏥

Hospitals and clinics need:

• Patient data protection (GDPR + medical regulations)
• Reliable communication systems
• Secure collaboration tools
• Long-term record retention
• Operational continuity

Digital sovereignty is critical for healthcare data protection.

Research Institutions 🔬

Research organizations require:

• Secure data sharing with international partners
• Long-term preservation of research data
• Collaboration tools that work across institutions
• Protection of intellectual property
• Compliance with funding requirements

The OpenSpec enables sovereign research collaboration.

Non-Profit Organizations 🤝

NGOs and non-profits need:

• Cost-effective technology
• Data protection for beneficiaries
• Transparent operations
• Donor confidence
• Operational sustainability

Digital sovereignty aligns with non-profit values and constraints.

The Path to Your Digital Sovereign Workplace

Phase 1: Assessment (Weeks 1-4)

Evaluate Current State:

• Inventory all SaaS services and costs
• Identify data sovereignty gaps
• Assess compliance requirements
• Survey user needs and pain points
• Calculate current TCO

Define Sovereignty Goals:

• Which data must stay in-jurisdiction?
• Which services are critical for sovereignty?
• What compliance requirements must be met?
• What's the budget and timeline?

Phase 2: Planning (Weeks 5-8)

Choose Your Stack:

• Select open-source services for your needs
• Map dependencies and integration points
• Design infrastructure architecture
• Plan migration timeline
• Identify required expertise

Build Your OpenSpec:

• Use openDesk Edu OpenSpec as template
• Adapt specifications to your context
• Document custom services
• Define SLOs and DR procedures
• Establish baseline metrics

Phase 3: Foundation (Months 3-6)

Deploy Infrastructure:

• Provision servers or private cloud
• Set up Kubernetes cluster
• Configure networking and storage
• Implement backup strategy
• Deploy monitoring and alerting

Establish Identity:

• Deploy Keycloak or similar
• Integrate with existing directory
• Set up SSO for initial services
• Configure federation if needed
• Test authentication flows

Phase 4: Migration (Months 7-12)

Phased Service Migration:

• Start with non-critical services
• Migrate data with validation
• Train users progressively
• Maintain parallel operation during transition
• Gather feedback and iterate

Continuous Improvement:

• Deploy self-improvement agent
• Schedule regular audits
• Update OpenSpec as system evolves
• Document lessons learned
• Contribute improvements back to community

Phase 5: Optimization (Year 2+)

Performance Tuning:

• Optimize based on usage patterns
• Scale infrastructure as needed
• Refine SLOs based on actual performance
• Improve disaster recovery procedures
• Enhance security posture

Community Engagement:

• Participate in open-source communities
• Contribute code and documentation
• Share operational knowledge
• Collaborate with other sovereign workplaces
• Influence project roadmaps

The Ecosystem Advantage: Beyond the OpenSpec

The OpenSpec framework enables something even more powerful: a global ecosystem of sovereign workplaces.

Shared Specifications, Diverse Implementations

Organizations can:

• Adopt the openDesk Edu OpenSpec as-is
• Adapt it to their specific needs
• Extend it with custom services
• Share improvements back to the community
• Collaborate on common challenges

The Network Effect

As more organizations adopt OpenSpec-based sovereign workplaces:

Knowledge Sharing:

• Best practices documented in OpenSpec
• Lessons learned shared openly
• Common problems solved collectively
• Innovation accelerated through collaboration

Cost Reduction:

• Shared infrastructure components
• Bulk purchasing power
• Reduced vendor negotiation
• Lower per-organization costs

Quality Improvement:

• Community code review
• Multiple deployment validations
• Diverse use case testing
• Continuous refinement

Sovereignty Strengthening:

• Standards-based interoperability
• Multiple implementation options
• No single point of failure
• Collective bargaining power

Technical Deep Dive: The OpenSpec Format

For technical implementers, the OpenSpec format combines several standards:

Fission AI OpenSpec Compliance

The OpenSpec follows the Fission AI format, which enables:

• AI systems to understand specifications
• Automated reasoning about system behavior
• Intelligent code generation
• Predictive analysis of changes

Structure Example

## Purpose
[What the system does and why]

## Scope
### In Scope
- [Feature 1]
- [Feature 2]
### Out of Scope
- [Exclusion 1]
- [Exclusion 2]

## Requirements
### Functional Requirements
#### Scenario: [Use case]
- GIVEN [precondition]
- WHEN [action]
- THEN [expected outcome]

### Non-Functional Requirements
- Performance targets
- Scalability requirements
- Security requirements

## Depends On
- [Dependency 1]: [Purpose]
- [Dependency 2]: [Purpose]

## SLO
- Availability: 99.9%
- Latency P95: <100ms
- Error rate: <0.1%

## Disaster Recovery
- RPO: 15 minutes
- RTO: 1 hour
- Backup strategy: [Details]
- Recovery order: [Steps]

Benefits of Structured Specifications

For Humans:

• Clear, consistent documentation
• Easy to read and understand
• Standardized across services
• Comprehensive coverage

For AI Systems:

• Machine-parseable format
• Structured data extraction
• Automated analysis
• Intelligent assistance

For Organizations:

• Audit-ready documentation
• Compliance evidence
• Knowledge preservation
• Operational excellence

Research and Further Reading

The OpenSpec framework and digital sovereignty principles are explored in depth in our research papers:

Paper 1: Educational Institutions and Digital Sovereignty

"Breaking Free from Vendor Lock-in: How Educational Institutions Can Reclaim Digital Sovereignty Through Open-Source Ecosystems"

Examines the crisis in educational technology, provides detailed TCO analysis, and presents implementation patterns for educational institutions.

Paper 2: OpenSpec Self-Improvement Methodology

"From Vague Documentation to Living Specifications: A Continuous Self-Improvement Approach for Educational Technology Platforms"

Presents the Ralph Loop methodology, the Fission AI OpenSpec format, the self-improvement agent architecture, and empirical results (0% → 100% documentation completeness).

The Choice Is Yours

Every organization using digital technology faces this fundamental choice:

Path 1: Digital Dependency

• Accept vendor lock-in
• Pay escalating per-seat costs
• Surrender data sovereignty
• Depend on vendor roadmap
• Comply through expensive add-ons
• Exit becomes increasingly difficult

Path 2: Digital Sovereignty

• Own your code and data
• Pay only for infrastructure
• Maintain data sovereignty
• Influence your own roadmap
• Comply by design
• Exit is always possible

The OpenSpec framework makes Path 2 achievable, affordable, and sustainable.

Join the Digital Sovereignty Movement

The Digital Sovereign Workplace is not a product to buy—it's a movement to join.

How to Get Started

1. Read the Research: Explore our papers on digital sovereignty and OpenSpec methodology
2. Explore the OpenSpec: Browse the complete specifications
3. Try a Pilot Deployment: Use Docker Compose for local testing
4. Join the Community: Contribute improvements and share experiences
5. Contact Us: Discuss your specific sovereignty challenges

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openDesk Edu: Reclaiming digital sovereignty through open-source ecosystems.

Data sovereignty meets organizational excellence. Build your Digital Sovereign Workplace today.