Migrating from Microsoft Office to Collabora Office and Collabora Online

Migrating from Microsoft Office to Collabora Office and Collabora Online: the short answer

Moving an organization off Microsoft Office desktops to Collabora is staged work that covers desktop applications, browser editing and the document dependencies around both, not a single software install. The desktop side is Collabora Office, which replaces Word, Excel and PowerPoint installs on user machines. The browser side is Collabora Online, a server you run that edits documents, spreadsheets and presentations inside a host platform through the WOPI protocol. Most organizations need both, and they reach users on different timelines, so the plan has to treat them as two workstreams that meet at the document store.

The cost motive is licensing. Collabora's case study on the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland reports Microsoft Office licence costs of over 1.2 million pounds a year and a 95% reduction in annual software licensing costs after migrating to Collabora Office. Treat that as the vendor's account of one organization, not a forecast for yours. Your own figure depends on how many seats you retire, what you still pay for in Microsoft 365 or on-premises server products, and what you add in support and hosting. Ask any partner, including Collabora, to show the licence baseline and the recurring costs in the same quote.

Effort is set by dependencies and rollout scope, not by file count alone. A few thousand documents with no macros and no add-ins can be simpler than a smaller set that drives a line-of-business application through Office automation. Confirm early which hosts will open documents in the browser, which desktop applications call Office components, how many users change at each wave, and who approves each group's move. Those answers determine the pilot, the compatibility testing, the training load and the cutover sequence described in the rest of this page.

What maps cleanly from Microsoft Office and what does not

This table compares common Office capabilities with their Collabora equivalents, from OOXML formats and PDF to macros, add-ins and OLE automation. Read each row as a starting hypothesis: where a note says confirm, test the behavior with your own documents and workflows before committing to a rollout date.

Capability	Microsoft Office	Collabora Office and Collabora Online	What to confirm
Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents	Desktop Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing	Collabora Office on desktops, Collabora Online for browser editing of documents, spreadsheets and presentations	Layout, pagination and chart rendering on your most complex templates
OOXML formats (docx, xlsx, pptx)	Native formats	Supported for opening and saving in Collabora Online	Round-trip fidelity for tracked changes, comments and custom styles
PDF and other formats	PDF export and viewing; Visio is a Microsoft format	PDF, RTF, CSV and Visio files are supported by Collabora Online	Whether each format is read-only or editable for your use cases
Real-time co-authoring	Co-authoring through Microsoft 365 or SharePoint services	Collaborative editing in Collabora Online through the host platform's WOPI integration	Behavior of your host platform, locking and conflict handling with many concurrent editors
Templates and document properties	Office templates, content controls, document properties	Templates and properties are generally carried over, but complex content controls may differ	Every template your business relies on, including form fields and content controls
Outlook-linked documents and attachments	Documents opened from Outlook and Office integration	Outlook integration is not part of Collabora Online; links must be handled by your mail client and host platform	Your link and attachment workflow, including how links resolve for browser users
VBA macros	Macro-enabled files (.docm, .xlsm, .pptm) run VBA	Macros are disabled in Collabora Online in the browser; desktop macro behavior depends on the Collabora Office build	Inventory of macro-enabled files and which macros must be rewritten or retired
Add-ins and OLE automation	Office add-ins and COM automation of Office applications	COLEAT provides OLE Automation with Collabora Office on Windows; add-ins are not a like-for-like replacement	Each line-of-business dependency, its call pattern and a test on the target Collabora build

Which documented import and export paths the move can use

Before choosing any import path, decide where the authoritative copy of each document lives. In most organizations that is a file store such as a file sharing platform, a document management system or a network share. Collabora Online edits files in the browser, and the migration should treat the store as the single source of truth so that edited versions return to the same location with the same permissions and version history. Changing the store during the move creates duplicate copies that users will eventually open in different tools.

Inventory the stores: List every location that holds Office files, including personal folders, shared drives and archives.
Keep one authoritative copy: Decide which system remains the record during the pilot and during the cutover window.
Preserve metadata: Confirm that file paths, owners, sharing settings and version history survive any copy or conversion step.
Plan for freezes: Agree how long files can be edited in the old tool while a migrated copy is being checked.
Record exceptions: Track files that cannot be moved, such as those under legal hold, for separate handling.

Confirm with your storage platform owner how versioning and retention behave when a file is opened and saved by a different editor.

How the pilot, parallel run and cutover fit together

The sequence moves document editing from Microsoft Office desktops to Collabora Office and Collabora Online in stages, so each group is only switched after its documents, macros and line-of-business dependencies have been tested. Each phase produces evidence that justifies the next one.

Inventory documents, macros and dependencies
The project team catalogs the document estate by department, file type and business owner, and records which files contain macros, embedded objects, linked data or add-ins. Line-of-business applications that automate Office or read its files are listed with their owners and vendors. The output is a dependency register that states, for each item, whether it moves, is replaced or stays on Microsoft Office. The step is complete when each business owner has signed off the register for their area.
Select a representative pilot group
Choose a pilot group that reflects the real mix of work: heavy spreadsheet users, template-driven teams, external document exchange and any department with regulated records. Confirm with the host platform owner that the chosen integration, such as Nextcloud Office, can limit editing to pilot groups, which is supported in Nextcloud Office according to its administration manual. The output is a named pilot population, a documented support path and an agreed list of pilot documents. Confirm the pilot size and duration with your own risk owners, since no fixed figure applies to every organization.
Test format fidelity before rollout
Run a sample of pilot documents through Collabora Online and compare them with the originals in Microsoft Office, covering docx, xlsx, pptx, PDF and any legacy formats in the register. Check layout, tracked changes, comments, fonts, charts, pivot tables, conditional formatting and content controls, and record each defect with its severity. Repeat the same tests after each save and round trip so that changes introduced by repeated editing are caught. The step closes when defects are either fixed, documented as accepted, or assigned to a workaround that the business owner has approved.
Run Office and Collabora in parallel
For a defined period, both Microsoft Office and Collabora are available, and users may open the same file in either tool. The team monitors support tickets, editing errors, lock conflicts and document corruption reports, and it tests the line-of-business integrations against the Collabora path. Retest any macro or automation item that was marked for replacement, because the register is the record of what has to work before cutover. The output is a parallel run report with an issue log and a go or no-go decision for each department.
Cut over one department at a time
Switch departments in a planned sequence, starting with the groups whose dependencies were fully tested in the pilot and parallel run. Before each cutover, publish user guidance and short training on the differences that matter to that group, and set the host platform's editing permissions so that only the cut-over group can edit in Collabora. The change is complete when the department's support queue returns to its normal level and the business owner confirms that open items are tracked. Keep a rollback path documented until the next department is confirmed stable.
Decommission licenses and legacy file handling
After all departments are live and stable, remove Microsoft Office from the endpoints that no longer need it, and reclaim or cancel licenses according to the terms in your agreement with Microsoft. Archive or convert legacy files that are no longer edited, and update retention and search indexes so that they reference the formats now in use. The output is a decommissioning record listing removed licenses, archived document sets and any retained exceptions with their owners. Confirm the license reduction with your procurement team, since the saving depends on contract terms, not on this sequence.

What drives the cost and duration of an Office migration

This table lists the cost and effort drivers in a move from Microsoft Office desktops to Collabora Office and Collabora Online, showing who is paid, whether each cost is one-time or recurring, and what to request in a written quote. Use it to decide which drivers your own inventory must measure before asking for a fixed-scope proposal.

Driver	Why it changes cost or effort	One-time or recurring, and what to request in a quote
User count and rollout shape	Users in each wave drive pilot size, training volume and support load. Phased waves add coordination and parallel running.	One-time for planning and waves. Request wave-by-wave scope and the number of users each wave covers.
Collabora Online licensing tier	Collabora's pricing page lists the Business plan at 3 euros per user per month for up to 99 users, and the Enterprise plan is quoted for 100 or more users with volume discounts.	Recurring per user. Confirm the tier that applies to your user count, what is included, and how user counts are measured.
Document volume and format mix	Large archives of docx, xlsx and pptx files, plus legacy or Visio files, widen fidelity testing and remediation work.	One-time testing and remediation. Request the sample size, the formats covered and the acceptance criteria for each.
Macro-enabled documents	Each macro-enabled workbook or template needs an owner decision: rewrite, retire or keep in Office. Macros are disabled in Collabora Online.	One-time inventory and rework. Request a count-based inventory method and who signs off each disposition.
VBA line-of-business applications	Applications that automate Office through VBA or OLE may need redesign, a Windows-side compatibility path or retirement, which is the largest source of uncertainty.	One-time analysis and build. Request a dependency list, the test environments used and a stated exclusion list.
Add-ins and OLE dependencies	Office add-ins, templates on network shares and linked objects each need a supported replacement or a documented workaround.	One-time. Confirm which add-ins have browser or Collabora equivalents and which need a decision by the business owner.
Host platform integration	Binding Collabora Online to Nextcloud or another WOPI host, with allow lists, TLS and user group rules, adds configuration and testing work.	One-time build, then recurring upkeep for host upgrades. Request the host versions, the integration steps and the test cases.
Infrastructure and sizing	Concurrent editing load, the number of servers and the ingress layer set hardware or cloud capacity. Collabora's Helm chart requires WOPISrc-aware routing when scaling out.	Capacity is recurring in your own cloud or data center. Request the sizing assumptions, peak concurrency and the scaling design.
Training and change management	Editing habits differ between desktop Office and a browser suite, so training, help material and floor support scale with headcount.	One-time delivery, with some recurring onboarding. Request training hours per role, materials and the support window after cutover.
Patching and ongoing support	Collabora publishes security advisories and point releases, so someone must apply updates and retest integrations on a schedule.	Recurring. Request the update cadence, who applies patches, and whether a support or SLA tier is included in the license.

What buyers ask before moving from Office to Collabora

How much effort and cost does a move from Microsoft Office to Collabora Office involve?

The effort depends on how many users, applications and document types are in scope, and on how many line-of-business tools depend on Office behavior. The main cost components are internal staff time for inventory, testing and training, the engagement fee for the parts you outsource, and the licensing for Collabora Online if you run browser editing. Most of the cost is in discovery and testing rather than installation. One-time costs include the pilot, document compatibility testing, macro and add-in remediation and training. Recurring costs include licensing, server capacity and patching. Ask any provider for a quote built from a written scope that lists the user groups, applications, formats and environments covered.

How long does a phased rollout take, and what sets the pace?

The pace is set by the inventory of dependencies, the time needed to resolve document fidelity issues, and how quickly each user group can be trained and moved. A pilot with a small group of representative users usually comes first, followed by waves that move departments in sequence. Each wave should have a rollback point and a clear exit test. The largest delays tend to come from unknown macros, legacy add-ins and external partners who exchange files in formats that behave differently. Confirm the phase plan, exit criteria and calendar dates with the provider in the written scope, since no fixed duration applies to every organization.

What does the move need from our own staff?

The move needs named owners from several groups. Application owners must confirm which workflows matter and sign off on test results. Desktop and identity teams must plan client changes and access. Records and compliance staff must decide which document sets need extra checks. Help desk staff need training material and a way to escalate format problems. Business champions in each department help collect real documents for testing. Ask the provider which tasks it performs, which tasks stay with your staff, and how much time each role needs during each phase so you can plan release capacity before the pilot begins.

Can our internal team run the migration without an outside partner?

An internal team can run the move if it has people with experience in desktop deployment, document testing, identity and application support, and if it can give the project steady time over several months. Outside help is most useful for the parts that are hard to staff internally, such as building a structured compatibility test set, running a pilot against real documents, and building server components that match your security policy. DeployOpen plans, implements, customizes, integrates, hardens and supports self-hosted open-source platforms in your own infrastructure, and most engagements are fixed-scope with the scope agreed in writing before work starts. Decide which parts to keep in-house by comparing the skills you already have against the test and deployment work in the scope.

How are macros and line-of-business tools handled in the move?

Start with an inventory. List every macro-enabled document, VBA module, add-in, template, and any application that automates Office through its object model or file handoff. Collabora Online does not run macros, so macro-dependent documents and workflows need a decision: rewrite them, keep them on a Windows desktop with a supported approach, or retire them. Collabora Office on Windows offers COLEAT for OLE Automation, which should be tested against each dependency rather than assumed to work. Each line-of-business tool should have its own test case, owner and sign-off. Check the Collabora documentation for the current status of each mechanism before you commit to a design.

What do Collabora Online licensing costs look like at different user counts?

Collabora Online's published pricing lists a Business plan at 3 euros per user per month for up to 99 users. That plan includes long term support, a service level agreement, signed security updates and customer portal access. For 100 or more users, the Enterprise plan is quoted with volume discounts and adds integration support, customization services and roadmap input, so the figure depends on the quote. The free CODE edition is a rolling release that Collabora says is not recommended for production. Calculate the annual cost by multiplying the number of named users by the applicable rate and months, then compare it with your current Microsoft licensing, noting that Collabora Office desktop licensing is separate and should be confirmed with Collabora. Confirm the current figures on the pricing page before budgeting.

What compatibility and security checks should we ask about before rollout?

Collabora Online supports OpenDocument formats and Microsoft formats including docx, xlsx and pptx, plus PDF, RTF, CSV and Visio files. Support does not mean identical rendering, so test representative documents with layout, tracked changes, charts, fonts and embedded objects before each wave. On the security side, ask how the editing server is kept current. Collabora publishes security advisories, and recent point releases have addressed specific CVEs and rotated package signing keys. Plan a patch process with a named owner, and restrict which hosts can call the editing server, following the Nextcloud administration guidance on limiting WOPI traffic to known server addresses where your host supports it.

What usually goes wrong in an Office to Collabora move

Most Office to Collabora problems are not product defects. They come from documents, macros and host settings that were never inventoried, from users arriving with desktop expectations, and from pilots that never close. Each card below names one of these risks and the check that prevents it.

Format fidelity gaps found late

Layout, tracked changes, complex tables, embedded objects and fonts can render differently in Collabora Online than in the desktop Office version a team has used for years. Collabora Online supports docx, xlsx and pptx, but support is not the same as identical rendering for every file. Build a test set from real documents in each department, including the most complex ones, and compare them before the pilot starts. Record which differences matter to the business and which are cosmetic.

Macro and VBA dependencies found after cutover

Macro-enabled documents and Visual Basic line-of-business applications often sit outside the IT team's view until users report that a workflow stopped. Collabora Online does not run macros in the browser, so any process that depends on them needs an owner, an alternative or a separate decision before rollout. Inventory macro-enabled files, add-ins and Office automation calls from file shares, document management systems and scheduled jobs, and test each one with the people who use it.

Collaborative editing and host integration misconfigured

Co-authoring and document opening depend on the WOPI host, the Collabora server URL, protocol matching and, in multi-server setups, routing that keeps all users on one document on the same backend. A mismatch can show as a failed open or a lost edit that looks like a user error. Document the host configuration, restrict WOPI requests to known Collabora server addresses, and test multi-user editing on the same file from different networks and browsers before any user group goes live.

Users expecting desktop-only features

Some people rely on features that a browser editor handles differently or does not offer, such as specific add-ins, advanced print setups, or local file behavior tied to a desktop install. When these gaps surface during the first week of use, they are often read as failure of the whole project. Ask each department to list the features it cannot work without, mark which ones Collabora Online covers in the browser and which need the Collabora Office desktop, and tell users the answer before cutover.

Training gaps that stall adoption

Users who learn the new editor from a short email tend to fall back to familiar habits, save copies to the wrong place or ask the help desk for every small difference. Training should follow the document types and tasks each group actually performs, and it should cover browser editing, saving, sharing and the places where behavior differs from their old desktop Office. Plan for help desk staff to receive the same material and a short list of known differences before the first wave.

A parallel run that never ends

Many organizations keep Microsoft Office and Collabora side by side for longer than planned because no one owns the exit decision. Each team then keeps its old habits, and file formats drift in both directions. Set explicit criteria for each wave, such as the test set passing, macro dependencies resolved and help desk volume settling, and name the person who signs off on moving the next group. Agree on a date for retiring the old desktop licenses and document access before the pilot begins.

Which parts the client team owns and which parts a partner carries

The client team owns the decisions that only the organization can make, and a partner cannot make them on its behalf. That starts with the document inventory: the list of templates, recurring reports, shared drives and line-of-business exports that exist today, along with who uses them. Business owners must name who owns each template and each macro, decide which of them still matter, and approve what is retired. The client also owns the identity and host decisions: which directory supplies user accounts, whether Collabora Online is hosted inside Nextcloud or another WOPI host, which groups may open and edit documents in the browser, and where the servers run. Communication with staff stays with the client as well, because users trust messages from their own managers and HR teams more than from an outside party. Confirm early who signs off each of these items, since delays here move every later phase.

A partner carries the technical work that is repeatable and measurable. That includes building inventory tooling that scans file shares and reports formats, macro-enabled files and external references, setting up a pilot environment, running document compatibility tests against a agreed sample of real files, and supporting integration and phased rollout. Where the work is agreed, the partner's scope is written down before work starts, with named deliverables, the test cases used, the acceptance criteria for fidelity and the boundary for each phase. Ask for the test results as evidence the client can keep, and for a list of the items that fall outside the written scope, such as rewriting a macro or changing a line-of-business application. Those items usually need a separate decision and a separate estimate, and the client team should keep ownership of the final call on them.

How DeployOpen scopes, delivers and supports the migration

The migration runs as four connected components: a written scope, a pilot that tests real documents, a phased rollout with training, and a support arrangement for what comes after. Each one hands a decision or a piece of evidence to the next, so the work stays visible to the people who must approve it. DeployOpen deploys Collabora Online inside your own infrastructure. It prepares evidence for your assessors but does not issue audit reports or certifications.

Scoping with a written inventory

The first step is a written inventory of desktop Office use: document types, templates, add-ins, macro-enabled files, line-of-business applications that call Office, and the user groups that depend on each. The inventory becomes the basis for a fixed scope, with deliverables and timelines agreed in writing before work starts. Ask the partner to show how each inventory item maps to a scope line or an explicit exclusion, so nothing dependent on Office is discovered during cutover.

Pilot and fidelity testing

A pilot runs a representative sample of your documents through Collabora Online and Collabora Office, comparing layout, tables, tracked changes, fonts, charts and embedded objects against the originals. Testers should include the people who build the most complex files, not only the average user. Agree in advance who signs off on which document classes, and record the failures so each one has an owner and a fix or a documented workaround.

Phased rollout and training

Rollout proceeds by user group, starting with groups whose documents are simplest and whose sponsors are most willing to report problems. Each phase includes short training on the browser editor, the differences from the desktop application, and where to report fidelity problems. Plan a fallback path for users who cannot yet move, and confirm the cutover criteria with the business owners before each phase begins.

Deployment inside your infrastructure

Collabora Online runs in the cloud accounts, data centers or restricted networks you control, connected to your document host through WOPI. The team confirms the host allow list, TLS, and which users may open which document types before production traffic starts. Access decisions stay with your administrators, and DeployOpen prepares configuration and evidence that your own assessors can review.

Ongoing support and retainers

After rollout, the work shifts to tracking Collabora Online point releases, applying security updates, and handling new document issues as they appear. Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers, with scope and response expectations written down. Ask what the retainer covers for branch upgrades, who applies security patches, and how fidelity regressions are tested before a new release reaches users.

Migrating from Microsoft Office to Collabora Office and Collabora Online