# Zerolock migrates Italian small businesses to Linux, KDE Plasma and LibreOffice stack

> **Key takeaway:** A new Italian IT consultancy demonstrates practical, repeatable migration patterns for 2-20 workstation businesses moving from Microsoft and Google to fully self-hosted open-source infrastructure.

**Published:** 2026-11-02T08:20:03+00:00 
**Source:** LibreOffice Document Foundation Announcements 
**Category:** foss-apps 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/zerolock-migrates-italian-small-businesses-to-linux-kde-plas.html 

## Summary
Zerolock, an IT consultancy founded in early 2026 in Spirano, Italy, has developed a standardized migration practice for small businesses switching from proprietary ecosystems to fully open-source infrastructure. The company targets non-technical organizations including logistics firms, construction companies, dental practices and law firms, deploying Linux workstations with KDE Plasma, LibreOffice, and self-hosted open-source tools for collaboration, communication and security on European servers.

The Document Foundation interview reveals that cost reduction, not ideology, drives initial interest, while data sovereignty and privacy arguments gain traction once conversations begin. Desktop transitions proceed more smoothly than anticipated, with users adapting to KDE Plasma and LibreOffice within days. The primary friction points are psychological—overcoming the assumption that Windows and Microsoft Office constitute computing itself—and technical, specifically spreadsheet formula syntax differences between Excel and LibreOffice Calc that require concentrated training effort.

## Migration methodology and technical stack
- **Desktop environment:** KDE Plasma serves as the standard desktop across all migrated workstations, chosen for interface familiarity that reduces user adaptation time.
- **Office suite:** LibreOffice replaces Microsoft Office, with Calc identified as the component requiring the most training investment due to formula syntax and behavioral differences from Excel.
- **Infrastructure model:** Complete self-hosting on European servers eliminates cloud dependency on Microsoft, Google or other vendors, with explicit elimination of vendor lock-in as an architectural goal.
- **Migration timing:** Zerolock schedules transitions for Fridays or weekends with on-site support the following Monday, identifying the first two business days as the critical period determining project success or failure.
- **Adoption strategy:** The methodology prioritizes identifying and empowering a curious internal champion before engaging resistant users, establishing peer reference points rather than top-down mandate.

## Why it matters
This case study provides a replicable template for small-business Linux migration that addresses the gap between large institutional deployments and individual user switches. For Linux distributions and LibreOffice contributors, the identified Calc formula friction points signal specific interoperability improvements that could accelerate adoption. The emphasis on self-hosted European infrastructure also reflects growing regulatory and commercial pressure for data localization that favors open-source stack deployment.