For boards and directors of NGOs and political parties
Know which supplier
is your lifeline.
Could your organisation keep working tomorrow if a digital supplier could no longer deliver for legal, political or commercial reasons? We help your board answer that question. Independent, with facts and without activism.
This is no longer
a theoretical
question.
What is happening, with dates. No predictions, just facts a board has to deal with.
- Since 2018
Under the CLOUD Act, the US government can demand data from American companies, even when that data sits in a European data centre.
- February 2025
The United States imposes sanctions on the International Criminal Court in The Hague and its chief prosecutor. American companies can no longer simply serve whoever is on such a list.
- December 2025
The United States bans the directors of HateAid, a German NGO against online hate, from entering the country. A civil society organisation becomes a subject of American politics itself.
- Today
The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has moved the mail of more than 40,000 accounts to European solutions. So it can be done, even though SharePoint, Teams and Windows are still there.
Start now
and set your
own pace.
The organisations that start now set their own pace. The rest will do it later under pressure, when a donor, contract or incident forces them.
You do not have to switch tomorrow. The European alternative is not ready everywhere either: often it is for mail and files, not always yet for telephony, automation and security. But whoever explores now is ready when it is.
Organisations that know their digital dependencies negotiate better with suppliers, choose AI with more confidence and have an answer when members, donors or funders ask where their data is.
If you know where the exit is, you can stay with peace of mind. And move forward. Rik writes about this in the series Where is the emergency exit?
Independent.
Not activist.
We will not tell you to leave Microsoft or Google. We show you where you stand. Then you choose.
Facts, no scaremongering
Every claim with a source and a date. Your board gets a picture it can work with, not an alarm story.
No sales agenda
We do not sell licences. We only offer implementation when an exploration calls for it, together with specialised European partners.
At board level
Rik Heijmen is an entrepreneur and the founder of Newground. He talks with boards about continuity and freedom to act, in plain language.
Three steps.
You decide
how far.
Every step delivers something your board can use on its own. Only after the exploration do you decide on a switch. All prices exclude VAT.
- Step 1
Frontrunner session
€2,450One afternoon with your board, directors and key people. Within a week, one A4 with your risk map and three first steps.
See the session - Step 2
Course check
IncludedAfter one to two weeks, 45 minutes. What has the map set in motion and what is the next step?
- Step 3
Switch exploration
€4,950, introductory price €2,950Per layer, mail and calendar, files and AI, one suitable European partner. With price, support and migration in writing.
See the exploration
Questions
boards ask.
Do we have to switch?
No. It is about knowing where you stand and what your options are. Staying can be a fine choice, if you know where your exit is and what it costs.
Are European alternatives good enough yet?
Partly. Zurich researched whether openDesk can replace Microsoft 365: fine for mail and files, but telephony, automation and security fell short. That is why we look layer by layer, not at everything at once.
We use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Is this for us?
Especially then. Many NGOs and parties use one of the two through a discounted nonprofit programme. That is good for the budget, but it does not make the dependency any smaller.
What about AI?
AI is part of it. Many organisations already use ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot, often without agreements. We also look at where your sensitive information ends up in AI tools and which European options exist.
Is this only for NGOs and political parties?
We start here, because this is where the pressure is felt first. If you are a foundation, union, school or company with the same question, we are just as happy to talk.
First know where
your exit is.
Half an hour with Rik, no strings attached. Together we see whether a frontrunner session fits you right now.
