Matrix in Germany
Element’s guide to digitally sovereign communication in Germany’s public sector
Germany is the world leader in digital sovereignty
The German public sector is leading the world with its vision of digital sovereignty - ensuring full control and operation over its data and infrastructure without dependency on Big Tech. Germany has embraced the Matrix protocol as its strategy to deliver secure, decentralized and interoperable communication, letting organizations run their own encrypted messaging and VoIP apps (such as Element) while participating within a wider federated network.
We’ve created ‘Matrix in Germany’ as a cheat sheet to help track the explosive and complex growth of Matrix across Germany’s public sector.
Please use the 'Want to be added...' forms to share your German Matrix initiative, feature as a partner or ask a question using the FAQ section.
Mapping Germany’s Matrix deployments
The first known engagement of Germany’s public sector with Matrix was in March 2018, when the State of Schleswig-Holstein reached out to Element, as the creators of Matrix, to discuss the viability of running Matrix as a sovereign messenger service for its internal communication. Then in 2019, Dataport contacted Element to use Matrix to underpin communications for its Phoenix project for digital sovereignty across the public sector. At the same time, BWI started working with Element to use Matrix to power BwMessenger - the official secure messenger for the Bundeswehr.
Since then, the Matrix industry in Germany has exploded - with Gematik mandating Matrix for interoperable secure communication across the healthcare industry in 2021; BMI and ZenDiS selecting Matrix and Element for the communication layer for the openDesk sovereign workplace suite in 2022; FITKO investigating Matrix for secure citizen communication in 2023, and universities across the land converging on Matrix as a self-sovereign yet interoperable communication fabric.
To help navigate the maze of projects, Element has curated a guide to Germany’s flagship Matrix implementations.
BwMessenger
BwMessenger is a fork of Element built by BWI and Element, as a digitally sovereign alternative to WhatsApp. It is the cornerstone of the Bundeswehr's communication infrastructure, used on a daily basis by the entirety of Germany’s Armed Forces.
TI-Messenger
TI-Messenger is a Matrix-based real time communication standard specified by Gematik. Beyond Matrix, it adds electronic health professionals cards (eHBAs), electronic institution cards (SMC-B) and a central FHIR directory. As Germany’s mandated standard for real time communications for the healthcare system, it provides secure and data sovereign communication across a large-scale private federation for more than 150,000 healthcare organizations - involving an ecosystem of hosting providers, healthcare providers and insurers, and Matrix vendors including Element, Famedly, Nordeck, Connect2X, StackIT, Bechtle, Akquinet, Arvato, IBM and many more.
openDesk
The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDis) are driving the initiative for an alternative digital sovereign workplace, based on open source software. It gives German public sector organizations a digitally sovereign and open source alternative to proprietary solutions such as Microsoft 365. Sovereign real time communication via Matrix is provided by Element and Nordeck.
Phoenix Suite
Phoenix is a project led by Dataport to support a digitally sovereign German state. It’s developing an alternative sovereign workplace using web-based open-source modules from a carefully selected range of European vendors, including Element.The dPhoenixSuite can be self-hosted, or secured in data centers owned by public sector IT service providers.
Police 2020
Based on the Saarbrücker Agenda of formulating a vision for the future information architecture of the 20 German police forces, the BMI has initiated the P20 program to drive the digital transformation of the police. The subgroup for real-time communication has recommended the use of Matrix as a unified messaging protocol across all independent forces, to replace the eight incompatible messaging solutions in use today. Element is working with its partners Bechtle and Nordeck to consult P20 and runs proof-of-concept deployments in partnership with Deutsche Telekom for individual police forces. Independently, StashCat has implemented the Matrix protocol in its client.
BundesMessenger
The BundesMessenger initiative is the world’s largest-scale public sector messaging strategy. Led by BWI, BundesMessenger gives Germany’s public administration a purpose-built Matrix-based messaging client that is free of charge. It is tied to a dedicated backend published on OpenCoDE to support self-hosting within the federation of BundesMessenger deployments.
Schools
Many states across Germany adopted Matrix during the COVID19 pandemic as a way to provide secure communication for online learning, and have continued subsequently. For example, in North Rhine-Westphalia, BearingPoint and Element work together to provide communications for 2.5M school children via LOGINEO. In Bavaria, Fujitsu and SDUI provide Element to 1.8M students.
Universities
Universities across Germany and Austria have widely adopted Matrix. Many university faculties and student groups have created their own self-hosted Matrix deployments using FOSS components, and thousands of students have used personal Matrix accounts hosted by free public hosters. Some universities and institutions - such as KIT in Karlsruhe, Humboldt University in Berlin and University Graz - have adopted Matrix as their primary communication platform for tens of thousands of users.
Want to see your project added to this page?
We’re always excited to hear about Matrix projects in Germany. If you are building on Matrix, tell us about your project by filling out this form.
Want to see your project added to this page?
We’re always excited to hear about Matrix projects in Germany. If you are building on Matrix, tell us about your project by filling out this form.
What is Matrix?
Matrix is the real time communication layer of the open Web.
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Decentralized
Organizations achieve digital sovereignty by hosting their own servers, providing them with the freedom to govern their users and manage their data. -
Open standard
Matrix plays a similar role for real time communication as SMTP plays for email. Organizations are free to choose their preferred Matrix-based frontend and backend. -
Natively interoperable
A diverse mix of communication platforms enables organizations to collaborate in a unified manner across their value chains. -
Open source
Most Matrix implementations are open source, meaning anyone can audit, customize and contribute to the code which cultivates innovation, transparency and enhanced security.
The Matrix stack
Any deployment is composed of three layers.
Frontend
There is a wide range of Matrix-based apps such as Element, BwMessenger, Famedly, Trixnity and many more. Most apps can interoperate with any backend although some are tied to a specific backend (such as BundesMessenger or TI-Messenger compliant apps).
Backend
Each Matrix deployment has a backend which hosts its users’ accounts, and replicates their conversations with other deployments.
Professional backends such as Element Server Suite Pro provide a full admin interface, auditing, moderation, ID management, high availability and scalability - all of which helps ensure an easy-to-manage and fully compliant communications platform.
Organizations can create a deployment through a number of methods. Find out more details on our Install page.
Open standard
Being an open standard, Matrix fosters interoperability and collaboration by providing a universally accepted framework, enabling a diverse ecosystem of Matrix-based products to seamlessly work together.
The origins of Matrix
The Matrix.org open source project was started in 2014 by Matthew Hodgson and Amandine Le Pape. Its aim is to provide a decentralized open standard for interoperable real time communication. The core Matrix team then started Element to fund their work in 2017, and in 2018 The Matrix.org Foundation was set up to guide Matrix development and ensure it remains a neutral open standard for the benefit of all. The vast majority of the core Matrix team are still employed by Element today.
users worldwide
deployments
largest public deployment
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FAQs
Read frequently asked questions about Matrix in Germany. These answers are provided by the team that created the open standard.
Which Matrix federations interoperate in Germany?
What classifications can you use Matrix at?
What hosting options are there which are compatible with Germany’s digital sovereignty strategy?
How does open source software enable digital sovereignty in Germany?
How does Matrix-based federation work?
What open source licenses does Matrix use?
Ask a question
No one knows more about Matrix than Element!
You’re welcome to ask the team that created Matrix any questions.
