Hi everyone!

We are launching Nextcloud Hub 9 in Berlin from the Nextcloud Conference, our yearly community contributor and user event. Being here always reminds me of why we started Nextcloud in the first place: putting you back in control over your data.

More and more of our digital lives are controlled by a shrinking number of big tech firms and their CEO’s. We believe there is a better way.

So we designed Nextcloud with decentralisation in mind. You can run it at home, in your business, your government agency or your local sports club. You decide who has access, and when the services of a big tech firm fall over, you can keep working.

But life isn’t about being alone on an island – it is about connecting people! Nextcloud Hub 9 is perfect for that, too. Our Federation features allows Nextcloud servers to talk to each other, bringing our tens of millions of users together from across the globe.

Of course, this release brings much more than federation. We help the public sector automate its processes so they can help you better; a chat mode in our AI Assistant; we introduce a brand new whiteboard to support your brainstorms and meeting notes; and there is a new more compact design with a fresh new background!

As always, we look forward to your feedback! Nextcloud is people, as much as technology, and if you want you can come say hi to us at the dozens of events we visit every year. Check out our event list and meet some fellow Nextclouders!

Greetings,
Jos & the Nextcloud team

Decentralize your life!

Nextcloud Hub has grown into a leading open-source platform for collaboration, thanks to our tireless efforts to excel in privacy while bringing new cutting-edge features to the table with each release. Today, we launch Nextcloud Hub 9, a new iteration of our platform that pioneers automation tools, empowers teams, and drives digital transformation.

Sounds ambitious? We call it Tuesday!

A big design redo

To make Nextcloud more tidy and efficient while adding all the new features, we introduced countless design improvements around the entire platform and its applications.

Auto-magic with Windmill

Our new Windmill-based app is an enterprise-focused process automation engine that is deeply integrated in Nextcloud Hub. It makes it possible to automate processes and flows, taking data from a form, parsing a PDF in an email, or processing a spreadsheet import, and then kicking off actions like processing a payment through a third party provider, storing results in a table, notifying a user to approve the state and then generating and emailing a PDF.

A new creative medium

With the new Nextcloud Whiteboard, get creative together: even organize a drawing class in Nextcloud Talk! Now you have a limitless canvas to sketch, draw and plan collaboratively anywhere, even inside Nextcloud Talk calls.

Centralized? Let’s move on!

It is time to stop depending on big tech firms that control every aspect of our lives, and federation is the key! It means decentralising while letting separate systems interact with each other – exactly how email works. With Nextcloud Hub 9 we bring federation from files sharing and now to chats and video calls!

Your favorite cloud with hit new tools

We improved Nextcloud Hub with numerous new features throughout: Nextcloud Assistant’s Chat UI and support for hundreds of new languages for AI translations, a new wizard to request files in Nextcloud Files, AI-powered follow-up reminders and phishing detection in Nextcloud Mail, augmented reality calls with Nextcloud Talk, an easy way to fill in forms in Nextcloud Office, and so much more.

Collective innovation behind Nextcloud

Nextcloud is rooted in community, standing on the foundation of collective innovation. On behalf of the Nextcloud team, we want to thank everyone involved in coding, testing, sharing, providing feedback, supporting, and nurturing Nextcloud Hub, giving us a reason to celebrate this new release together.

Design that gives you more

We believe that software should be accessible to everyone and everywhere, easy to use and always ready to work the way you expect it to. As new features and apps join Nextcloud Hub, we want to make sure we stay true to these principles.

If you have a feeling that something is different this time around, you are right! With more and more features being added every release, we want to prevent a sense of overwhelm in Nextcloud Hub’s interface. That’s why we gave our interface a make-over, letting the whole platform evolve while remaining highly accessible and user friendly.

More compact

First, we made everything more compact by downsizing various elements: input fields, buttons, links. This change lets us make use of the space more efficiently compared to our old interface. The new design is more cohesive and user-friendly, and we trust you’ll notice the difference once you experience it.

More tidy

Using rounded corners for various elements like buttons and fields, we achieved a more balanced aesthetic that maintains a relaxed visual experience without being overly stylized. It feels familiar across modern apps and devices, and it also allows for more efficient use of visual space.

And with a fresh new dynamic background

In Nextcloud Hub, you can also use any background you wish. The interface color scheme adjusts to match your background’s palette, giving your platform a cohesive and polished appearance — even on your mobile devices!

We are celebrating the new look of Nextcloud Hub with a new background style available in your Appearance settings. The new version supports dynamic backgrounds that adapt to your light or dark interface theme preferences. This background is the first to support themes in Nextcloud Hub 9, with more dynamic background designs coming soon!

Even more design improvements

Nextcloud Hub 9 brings multiple other feature- and app-specific improvements across various applications: Nextcloud Files, Nextcloud Calendar, our mobile and desktop clients, and more. We are going to discuss them in the dedicated sections of this blog in more detail.

Now let’s move to new features, starting with one particular app that enables a whole new dimension of functionality in your Nextcloud Hub.

Welcome Nextcloud Flow

For most of us, it is easy to imagine learning, shopping, and banking from your mobile phone no matter where you are. For some, even accessing a government service entirely from the comfort of their home is a reality. For others — hopefully a future.

Nextcloud offers an extraordinary platform to work in, fully digitally. Our apps let you effortlessly handle, share and work on documents with Nextcloud Files and Nextcloud Office or track and process structured data with Nextcloud Tables. Nextcloud Talk and Nextcloud Groupware help with planning and communication, and dozens of other apps help with tasks like processing forms, tracking tasks and more.

All this is built on an open standards based platform. The Open Collaboration Services API supported by Nextcloud makes it easy to connect with other systems, sending or receiving data and building new apps.

The introduction of our new Windmill-based application brings digitalization to a new level. It allows automation of processes, taking data from within and outside of Nextcloud, tying in with its communication and planning tools and thus acting as a conductor leading an orchestra of processes!

How to Flow?

Nextcloud Flow combines features that help Nextcloud automate a variety of processes in your organisation. It consists of several components, from our Open Collaboration Services API (OCS API) and our structured data management application Nextcloud Tables to our existing workflow tool to our brand new business process automation application based on Windmill.

Windmill integration in Nextcloud Hub automates repetitive tasks by integrating your Nextcloud Hub apps and related assets into cohesive workflows. For instance, vacation requests, payment confirmations, or approvals for accessing and sharing data. The app provides a graphic interface to design, manage, and monitor workflows, making it easier to automate processes and improve efficiency.

The automation, build with the open source team at Windmill, uses everything that makes Nextcloud such a powerful platform: file handling, chat, notifications, structured data in Nextcloud Tables, Nextcloud Office and much more. Dozens of API’s have been developed, all as part of the standardized Open Collaboration Services API, making it easy to connect Nextcloud to other systems.

Understanding the flows 

Windmill identifies events in Nextcloud Hub and triggers custom ‘flows’ created by you to retrieve and exchange data and perform sequences of actions across various apps and assets. Each flow is composed of ‘bricks,’ or individual actions that you program using a script.

The new workflow automation app is very flexible. It can run consecutive flows, or execute multiple flows in parallel, trigger an approval request for an employee, interact with external services like payment systems, and much more.

Digitalize processes in the public sector

Windmill integration in Nextcloud Hub has been designed to help the public sector comply with legislation like The Online Access Act (Onlinezugangsgesetz, OZG), a law in Germany that mandates citizens’ ability to interact with government services online, or with the EMBAG legislation in Switzerland that requires the public sector to use and develop open source solutions.

You can learn more about the challenges the public sector faces and how Windmill integration in Nextcloud Hub can help in our earlier blog post.

“The Online Access Act obliges the public sector to provide all administrative services digitally going forward. Open source software should be prioritised here. We are therefore delighted that with ‘Open Collaboration Services’, a 100% open source solution has been created for the first time with which specialised procedures can be implemented quickly and easily. Open source enables the simple sharing of specialised procedures on Open CoDE, which saves costs and strengthens digital sovereignty.”

Markus Richter

State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community and Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology

Decentralization through federation

Federated features allow users of self-hosted platforms like Nextcloud Hub to communicate, share files, and collaborate across instances while storing their data locally. Federation is a foundational tool for digital sovereignty, enabling the creation of decentralized yet interconnected ecosystems.

Prior to the Nextcloud Hub 9 release, federated features supported in our platform included file sharing and collaboration, as well as federated chatting in Nextcloud Talk. Today, we are excited to announce that federated video calls also become available to our users!

Introducing federated calls

Users can join group chats on another Nextcloud server with their Federated Cloud ID. While in federated chat, they can use many of the core features like user mentions, markdown formatting, or polls.

With Nextcloud Hub 9, we add federated calls to our growing array of decentralized features. Now you can organize audio and video meetings among users of different Nextcloud Hubs — to meet with colleagues from a different government agency, or maybe a partner who is using Nextcloud too!

Joining a call on another server feels as if you are still in your own Nextcloud Hub – using your own account and a preferred interface, without a need for creating guest accounts or public links.

OCM, a foundation for federation features in Nextcloud

Federated Cloud Sharing API in Nexctloud has been invented by Nextcloud founders Frank Karlitschek and Bjoern Schießle. It is a collaboratively developed standard that is a part of Open Cloud Mesh (OCM), an initiative of the GÉANT Association, a European collaboration on e-infrastructure and services for research and education.

Nextcloud Whiteboard

With Nextcloud Hub 9 , we are introducing a new collaborative app: Nextcloud Whiteboard. It gives you a limitless canvas and a range of tools to sketch, note, plan, or brainstorm together with your team.

Nextcloud Whiteboard works seamlessly with Nextcloud Talk. For example, you can brainstorm project structures and draw mind maps together in real-time while in a call. Or use it in a live workshop to illustrate concepts, create diagrams, and interactively engage participants.

Nextcloud Whiteboard is very intuitive and easy to use, ready to become your daily creative collaboration tool right away. It supports hand drawing with multiple colors and stroke types, shapes, images, arrows and other objects. Wide ranges of shapes like rectangles, circles, diamonds, arrows, lines and more, together with arrow-binding and labeled arrows, let you be flexible and creative without the need for an entire design suite.

Combine it with other media: draw on design mock-ups, building plans, schemes and other visuals by importing images of your own into the canvas.

Once ready, you can share your whiteboard and present it using the laser pointer feature, or invite users to collaborate with you, even from outside Nextcloud. Want to save or share your drawings as files? You can easily export them in PNG or SVG or copy to your clipboard.

Performance and scalability

We never stop working on Nextcloud Hub’s performance, realizing that it benefits not only end users and admins running our systems, but also the planet we all share. That’s why no matter how much more powerful we keep making Nextcloud, we allow it to use less resources with every update, considerably lowering its environmental impact. And of course, allowing it to run on more diverse hardware without loss in performance too.

Faster, more lightweight apps

One of the steps towards better performance in Hub 9 has been a switch to Vite, a tool to bundle the JavaScript. This reduced the size of our apps significantly, making some up to 5x smaller and thus load much faster fir everyone.

We also made numerous other improvements that make Nextcloud Hub more snappy overall:

• Skip the time needed to set up a full filesystem for accessing public link-share DAV endpoints
• Delay getting (sub)admin status until needed
• Avoid queries during file share aggregation in Deck
• More lazy app bootstrap

High Performance back-end

Since 2021, Nextcloud Files runs on the High Performance back-end written in Rust that reduced its network traffic consumption by up to 90%. It also made the app swifter for users, for example by enabling instant notifications.

With Nextcloud Hub 9, we introduced support for High Performance back-end to Nextcloud Text. It greatly reduces the server load and renders edits much faster with accelerated synchronization during collaborative sessions.

Server-side performance improvements

We also worked on the server-side performance, making improvements that reduce the load on your infrastructure:

• Text: Reduce polling interval for read-only users
• Nextcloud Assistant’s Context Chat: improved queuing, with smarter memory handling
• Faster updates: avoiding duplicate repair steps, moving more repair/check steps out of update and to cron
• Command to get information about database changes needed for an update

Database Sharding

In our last release, we introduced the foundation for Database Sharding, enabling the ability to split the Nextcloud database into several smaller databases and distribute the load across multiple servers. With Nextcloud Hub 9, we’ve continued to develop this feature, making it applicable for most use cases.

Read-After-Write behavior

Previously, Nextcloud required synchronous replication, limiting database clusters to a maximum of four nodes. Now, we added support for an unlimited number of Read nodes using asynchronous replication. Combined with database sharding, Nextcloud’s scalability has significantly advanced, allowing a single cluster to support up to 10 times more users.

AI and Nextcloud Assistant

Chat with Nextcloud Assistant, translate between hundreds of languages, work with Analytics and enjoy accelerated performance.

AI has become an integral part of Nextcloud Hub: Many core applications like Nextcloud Mail and Nextcloud Talk have their own built-in AI tools, while Nextcloud Assistant is getting more capable both feature-wise and in the back-end. At the same time, we integrate Ethical AI principles into our platform, enabling new AI features with a focus on privacy, transparency, and user control.

Chat with Nextcloud Assistant

Nextcloud Assistant becomes even more convenient with a chat interface, where you can give prompts and ask questions in a dialog format. It will remember your conversations, making interactions more natural and smooth. Chat about your day, work on the next press release, or proofread your social media posts — locally on your server and without any data leaks!

Translate with Nextcloud Assistant

Translate app is now available directly from Nextcloud Assistant menu. Translation options are now almost limitless, as we added support for hundreds of languages that app can detect, read and translate to. The app can be deployed as an ExApp on a separate server, and now supports CPU and GPU, increasing performance and efficiency significantly.

Access Analytics with Nextcloud Assistant

Analytics, an application for processing and managing analytics data developed by our community, added supprt for Nextcloud Assistant’s Context Chat. This means that you can now ask it about the data from Analytics, and Context Chat will give you an answer if the app has relevant figures.

New API and a performance boost

We developed a new API that significantly improves the performance and scalability of the AI in Nextcloud, while also enabling the creation of new AI features. For example, it allows Assistant’s responses in the chat to be nearly instant, provided your back-end is sufficiently performant.

Nextcloud Files

Nextcloud Hub 9 makes file navigation easier, introduces the File Request feature, and keeps you up-to-date on your shares.

Request files

Need to collect files in a secure way from one or more users? Meet File Request, a feature that lets you request files with configurable security settings and tracking features.

To get started, click Create file request from the “+” menu of Nextcloud Files. Set a title and a description of your request and pick a drop folder. Set an expiration date and a password for your share, if you need an extra security layer.

When ready, you can simply share a link anywhere you prefer or add email addresses of recipients to share them right away via email. Every recipient will be asked to enter a name before dropping a file, to keep things on track.

Pasted a link in the wrong place? We’ve got you! To keep your requests under control, you can browse and manage active requests in the right sidebar and close them as needed.

We also added a push notification option to help you keep track of your files and folders. Now you can get notified if a user uploads a file you requested or downloads one you shared with them.

Filter files and folders

When you keep a lot of files in your system, navigating your library can become cumbersome, and time-consuming too. If you add just two more files daily, that’s already 60 more per month! To help you find what you need faster, we introduce file filters.

You can filter your files by file type, modification date and people. Fine-tune your browsing by combining different filters and filter types, and success is guaranteed.

Browse folders with tree view

Navigating complex folder paths is now easier with the folder tree view. The left sidebar in the new Nextcloud Files offers a classic tree-style display of your folders, making it simple to browse intricate project folders.

More improvements in Nextcloud Files

• Ability to keep the folder structure when uploading
• Group folders ACL: visual feedback when ACL update fails
• Small Group folder improvements
• Ability to enforce windows-compatible file names on the server
• Server-side DAV pagination
• Account management: sorting by last login
• Possibility to upload a complete folder from a “+” menu
• Delegate “Super-Admin” for user management
• Allow to specify the token of a public share / share renaming
• Improved grid view UI in Files

Nextcloud Office

PDF templates and forms, 3D transitions in slides, better interoperability and security, and more in the new version of Nextcloud Office.

PDF templates and form filling API

A new feature in Nextcloud Office for this release is the ability to handle document templates with forms. When a template document has a form, Nextcloud will provide a nice, easy-to-use interface for the user to fill in details. Then, the document will be created and opened, and the user can check if everything was added correctly and if they want to make any changes.

The form system is very powerful, yet easy to use. For example, you can fill in time-sheets, complete feedback forms, and do much more. And it’s not only limited to text: you can even create charts based on data from your documents. Organisations that use a lot of forms can use this to make the life of their team members a lot easier!

Developers can use the new document API in Nextcloud Office to create multiple documents from a central database or template, or collate information from multiple documents.

It is possible to streamline automated document creation by linking a database to a template using scripts. With templating, you can automate many interactions like reporting, proposal generation, client on boarding, or even production of marketing collateral.

Of course, the new Office API is available in the new Nextcloud Flow, which can automate a variety of things, from extracting data from documents to filling them in.

Presentations: 3D transitions and quicker loading

The presentation editor now supports fancy 3D transitions between slides that make your slideshows more dynamic and catchy. These use WebGL, putting the GPU in your laptop or desktop to work for buttery smooth animations.

You can access transitions via the transitions widget located in the editor’s sidebar. And the widget itself has been revamped too!

Presentations also became much faster all around, with swifter document opening and slide loading, and overall smoother scrolling and rendering of the elements.

Better security and interoperability

Rootless containers in Nextcloud Office now operate without requiring special privileges from the user, thanks to Linux Namespaces. This optional feature enhances security by isolating container processes more effectively.

Our Office suite in Nextcloud Hub 9 features improved security with several new features. The newly introduced Wholesome Encryption for ODF files offers enhanced performance, better tamper resistance, metadata hiding, and increased resistance to brute-forcing with the Argon2id key derivation function.

Nextcloud Office also became more interoperable. Work with metric-compatible Microsoft fonts has been improved together with compliance with ISO/IEC 29500 standard. New Excel-compatible functions were added like FILTER, SORT, and SORTBY, along with a smart justify feature.

Nextcloud Tables

Our no-code platform for data management gets new export and import features, optimized performance and more in Hub 9!

New column type: Users and groups

Assign a colleague or a team to a task in a table by adding their clickable name with a new column type Users and groups.

Export table schema

Export the table schema and import it as a new table to quickly create tables with a similar structure and populate them from scratch. This handy templating feature helps you quickly move tables from testing to production when you build environments based on Nextcloud Tables. And, of course, you can exchange these between organizations: Each city needs to handle things like a dog tax or registering a new citizen!

More in Nextcloud Office, Nextcloud Tables, and Nextcloud Collectives:

• New functions in spreadsheet editor: FILTER, SORT, SORTBY, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE, RANDARRAY, XLOOKUP, XMATCH
• Support of importing and exporting OOXML pivot tables (cell) format definitions
• “Copy Cells”, or “Fill Series” options when autofilling by dragging from a corner of cells in Calc
• Correct usage of ordinal suffixes 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on
• Right click to insert and delete comments in Calc
• Formula wizard interface improvements
• PPTX files with heavy use of custom shapes now open faster
• Pressing Enter in an empty list item ends the list
• Transitions widget located in the sidebar has been revamped (it now uses iconView)
• Admin warnings to display if you have mis-configurations
• Firefox performance optimization and reduced garbage-collection giving snappier browser experience closer to that of Chrome / WebKit
• Continued accessibility improvement and widget annotations

Nextcloud Talk

Improved moderation features, offline browsing on mobile, and Apple Vision Pro support in one of the most secure apps for online meetings.

Keep your chats healthy

Inside public conversations or during online events, it’s important to have a firm way to moderate the conversation, uphold your community guidelines and deal with potential spam. Nextcloud Talk features many moderation tools that help you maintain a safe and healthy environment like role management in chats, time tracking of who’s speaking, voice muting, and more.

Remove participants

With Nextcloud Hub 9 we introduce the ability to ban users who show disruptive behavior, publish spam links or abuse other participants.

Browse conversations even offline

Users of Nextcloud Talk on Android devices can now browse past conversation lists and chat messages offline, to quickly get back to important information even without needing an internet connection.

Don’t miss calls: add a second speaker!

Away from your laptop? Not an excuse to miss a call! Now you can choose a secondary device, like your Bluetooth headphones or a kitchen speaker to notify you of incoming calls. To activate the feature, head to notification settings and select a second output device.

Summon Smart Picker easily

You can now summon the Smart Picker in Nextcloud Talk via the attachment menu to add GIFs and videos, generate images with AI, link conversations and Deck cards, and even send map locations. For quick access to Smart Picker, you can type a “/” shortcut in the message box as usual.

Use Nextcloud Talk with Apple Vision Pro

When we say you can have your meetings anywhere, we mean it! Now you can join calls even in a virtual environment using our Nextcloud Talk app for your Apple Vision Pro headset

Nextcloud Groupware

Discover multiple security, usability, and navigation improvements across Nextcloud Groupware apps.

Nextcloud Mail

Smart follow-up reminders

The Nextcloud Assistant can already summarise email threads and generate meeting agendas from the your email content. With Nextcloud Hub 9, the Assistant can also check emails to see if the sender expects a reply: If it determines an email needs a follow-up, it will place it in a Follow up section to make sure you don’t forget!

Advanced search filters

Filter your inbox based on various conditions, such as subject line, sender, or tags with new email filtering mechanism. Unlike most other mail clients, Nextcloud Mail installs these filters as sieve scripts on the server, meaning the filters work regardless of which client you’re using. No need to set up the filters on your desktop and also your laptop, and then be annoyed they are not applied when you check mail on your phone!

Phishing detection

Some modern phishing emails are becoming exceedingly sophisticated, and therefore dangerous! And sometimes you’re moving quickly through your day, without an eye on potential dangers. In this case, Nextcloud keeps you alert about risky links and phishing or impersonation attempts by showing you a warning message.

End-to-end encryption with Mailvelope

Want to encrypt your mail using PGP? We’ve worked with the team behind Mailvelope to make sure the plugin works reliably with Nextcloud Mail, and also introduced a simplified domain registration feature for your convenience.

Nextcloud Calendar

More informative event window

The new sidebar in Nextcloud Calendar groups events, showing if they are your personal calendars, shared, which app they come from, and groups all hidden calendars together.

Availability display for rooms and resources

Before creating a new event, you can check the availability of Talk conversations and resources. Easier planning of all online meetings with less risk of anything going not-quite-as-planned.

Setting calendar as free or busy

Now you can decide if Nextcloud Hub shows your status as free or busy during events in your calendar. For example, you can set a calendar as transparent so it never changes your status to Busy.

Upcoming events in Nextcloud Talk conversations

Now every Nextcloud Talk conversation shows upcoming events happening within, reminding you of future meetings and making room availability more transparent.

Nextcloud Contacts

Delete or rename groups

Easily delete or rename groups with actions from the group menu, saving some of your precious time.

Set out-of-office replacements

When setting a Nextcloud-wide out-of-office status, you can assign another user or colleague to be your replacement during your absence. Their name will be visible in other apps like Nextcloud Talk, Nextcloud Mail, Nextcloud Calendar, and other locations throughout Nextcloud Hub.

Other improvements in Nextcloud Groupware:

• Mail signatures and encryption with S/Mime
• Mail: Add OCS API endpoint to send emails with automation
• Mail: print out email
• Mail: fix misplaced action menus
• Mail: fire workflow events for incoming messages
• Mail: API to read mails
• Mail: simplified domain registration for Mailvelope
• Mail: Fileviewer application
• Allow enforcing strict email format
• Contacts: migrate from Webpack to Vue
• Contacts: migrate from Webpack to Vite for faster loading
• Contacts: birthday and biography support for the system address book
• Calendar: set start day of the week
• Calendar: improve sidebar display of calendars
• Calendar: auto refresh
• CalDAV: invitations for shared calendars
• CalDAV: fix unclear event update email for recurring events
• DAV: hide CalDAV settings if no calendar-dependent apps are enabled
• Calendar/CalDAV: delta sync for subscriptions and adaptive sync rates
• CalDAV: send invitation emails via Nextcloud Mail

Even more security in Nextcloud Hub 9

Nextcloud Hub 9 lets you strengthen your security and administrative controls even further with several new fine-grained security tools and mechanics:

• Ability to set up a PIN code for passwordless authentication to additionally secure your account should anybody obtain your security key.
• Ability to restrict admin actions to internal IP addresses, disabling admin settings for users outside of trusted IP ranges.
• More flexible admin rights delegation: option to enable user management rights for users without granting admin permissions
• Ability to enable E2EE and SSE in Nextcloud Hub together
• Enhanced metadata extraction capabilities including PDF files
• Support for Azure Information Protection file tags

Nextcloud Clients

Refined design, optimized synchronization and more improvements in Nextcloud apps for desktop and mobile.

More native UI

We revised the design of Nextcloud clients for Windows and iOS to make them look more native in many ways, including transparency, buttons, spacing, and more.

New release channels for desktop app

New release channels are now available for the desktop client. Use the Daily channel to
stay ahead with the latest features and improvements in the making, or Enterprise channel with updates for enterprise customers.

Two-way sync for Android

With two-way sync enabled for a folder, files added or updated on device automatically sync to your cloud, and the other way round. Currently, only internal folders created in Nextcloud are supported.

Other improvements in Nextcloud clients:

• Improved handling of multi-monitor setups on macOS
• Desktop client: Multiple Proxy Settings.
• Login Flow v2 on Android and iOS.
• Ability to enforce Windows-compatible file names on the server.
• Improve notifications of file changes from notify_push server app.

Nextcloud ecosystem

New integrations join Nextcloud Hub, while our App Store receives a donation mechanism and gets more informative.

New in integrations

LLama 3

A third iteration of the popular open-source LLM with significant improvements in data quality and scalability.

XWiki

Open-source enterprise wiki and knowledge management platform. Integration? Partnership?

Enterprise support for new apps

Dovecot

Full-service email platform by OpenExchange

Stalwart Mail Server

Modern, high-performance email SMTP and MTA solution

Mailvelope

PGP for end-to-end email encryption.

All these open source technologies are available with our community edition, but we also partnered with the projects and companies behind them to offer an enterprise solution for our customers.

Nextcloud App Store

Donations

We want to give app creators an opportunity to spend more time on their apps for Nextcloud. So, we introduced donation links in our app store, allowing users to provide a tip to the developer of their favorite app. We support links to PayPal, Stripe and other solutions. Nextcloud keeps no commission — 100% of the funds goes to the developers. You can read more about donations in our documentation.

Enterprise apps

While donations are great, we believe the best approach to monetization for open source are enterprise subscription services when possible. So we offer app and integration developers the chance to work with us to offer an enterprise subscription from our app store – making it easy for prospective customers to request a quote.

Improved search and more

We also made a number of UI improvements, including a better search and the ability for app developers to signal needs about their app or notify about their update policy.

Take Nextcloud Hub 9 for a spin!

If you’re still with us, it means we’ve successfully brought you to the most important part of this journey.

Nextcloud is not a craft of marketing, it is a craft of engineering with true passion for privacy, transparency and humanity. That’s why we keep bringing the results of our work to you for free. Click below and start using the latest and greatest of Nextcloud Hub today!

Get Nextcloud Hub 9

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 9 here!

Get Nextcloud Hub

You can download Nextcloud Hub 9 from our installation page. Among available options, you can use a zip file or the all-in-one image for fresh installation.

Over the coming weeks, we will make it available to our home users via updater using the usual staged roll-out process. You can switch to the Beta channel temporarily if you want to try the new Hub right away. Don’t forget to switch back to stable after you’ve updated to Nextcloud Hub 9!

Note: Nextcloud caches the results coming from our updater server, so it can take some time for the new version to show up and you likely have to refresh the page, wait a bit, then try again.

How to update: AIO users

For new Nextcloud All-in-One (AIO) users, you can install Hub 9 directly by checking the “Install Nextcloud 30” box.

We have a dedicated setup guide for AIO users. Follow the guidelines to easily set up Hub 9.

The Nextcloud Enterprise version of Hub 9 will become available soon, once we successfully run the additional testing and complete certification.

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About the updates

The updates include a number of important bug fixes and performance optimization, as well as other improvements in all supported Nextcloud versions. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Updates are available for:

• Nextcloud Hub 7 (version 28.0.10)
• Nextcloud Hub 8 (version 29.0.7)

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post September updates for Nextcloud Hub 7 and 8 are here appeared first on Nextcloud.

As the #NextcloudConf24 is just around the corner, we would like to additionally present you with the full program for the weekend. From our keynote speakers and panelists, to live podcasting, lightning talks and workshops, we have a full agenda booked that we cannot wait to experience with you!

Keynote speakers

Whether you’re intrigued to learn more about mass surveillance and data privacy from Dr. Constanze Kurz or European technological sovereignty by Prof. Björn Lundell, you are sure to gain new insights.

On Saturday, September 14th at 10AM, we will kickoff the event with a special keynote announcement on Hub 9 by the Nextcloud team followed by the other keynote speakers.

Live podcasting session

On Saturday, September 14th, you will have the opportunity to listen to our live podcasting session with Björn Lundell and Brent Gervais as they deep dive in a fruitful conversation about the open source in the public sector, public procurement, digital government and other topics.

Panel session – How to contribute?

Nextcloud wouldn’t be where it is without the community of contributors

On Sunday, September 15th, join Nimisha Vijay, designer at Nextcloud, as she puts the spotlight on 3 contributor stories from Nextcloud’s vibrant community.

Lightning talks

On both Saturday and Sunday of our Nextcloud Community Conference weekend, we will host our famous Lightning Talks!

Lightning talks are ~5 minute talks covering a wide range of topics from how to build an app to topics on data privacy.

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Workshops

After the Lightning Talks on both days, we host knowledge sharing workshops so you can learn a new skill or get motivated!

• Build your first Nextcloud app by Nextcloud team
• Join the Nextcloud forums & Contribute by the Forum Crew
• Setup of a local docker-based development setup by Christian Wolf
• Nextcloud on SUSE Rancher Harvester by Scott Williams

On Sunday, September 15th we will host an 1 hour long hands-on Android app development session. A collaborative hacking session focused on brainstorming new functionalities, squashing bugs, and introducing new engineers to our apps by Tobias Kaminsky.

If you want more information on specific details of the day, like how to get to the venue and what to bring, refer to our All you need to know blog post!

Group photo

On Saturday, September 14th, we will take in the stage area the famous group photo of Nextcloud’s dynamic community. If you want to be part of it, please stay on the stage area after the Q&A section of the Hub 9 announcement.

Party, code, network

We want to make sure that in this event we will have a lot of time to meet each other in person, relax, code and have fun. At the end of Day 1, stay with us for the party which will include pizza, drinks, music and the beautiful crowd!

A networking space and co-working area will be available for you.

See you there!

We look forward to meeting you!

Be sure to use the hashtag #NextcloudConf24 on all your social media platforms to spread the word and share your experience!

Can’t come? Join the live stream!

Not able to join us in person? We’re inviting you to sign up for remote participation and join the livestream!

Join us!

The post Nextcloud Community Conference Program 2024: Keynotes, panel sessions, live podcast & more! appeared first on Nextcloud.

This blog is your guide to everything you need to know about the Nextcloud Community Conference 2024 happening in Berlin, Germany.

Our goal is to help you feel prepared, relaxed and excited for an incredible week!

Community Conference and Contributor Week schedule

What to expect?

At Nextcloud Community Conference, get ready for a fun weekend of coding, design, discussions, talks, and fun! Connect with the global Nextcloud Contributor Community and be part of shaping the future of Nextcloud.

During the Contributor Week you’ll be able to sit and code with like-minded individuals – developers, coders, entrepreneurs and designers – for the whole week. You’ll also have plenty of spaces to enjoy a meal or snack, take time for yourself, and unwind.

What’s on the agenda?

• Nextcloud Hub 9 will be released on September 14th at 10:00 AM CEST during the opening keynote and on a live premiere event on YouTube
• Inspiring keynotes by Dr. Constanze Kurz & Dr. Björn Lundell
• Engaging panel sessions: ‘Building a safer digital world’ & ‘How to contribute’
• Hands-on lightning talks on data privacy, open source & Nextcloud related topics
• Knowledge-sharing workshops by long-time Nextcloud contributors and the team
• Networking & coding time,
• Famous Saturday party  (Plus, enjoy great drinks and pizza!)

What to bring?

• Lanyards: In light of sustainability, we would ask attendees who have come before to bring their lanyard. If you haven’t been before, don’t worry, we will have lanyards and badges for you to wear.
• Nextcloud T-shirt: If you have a Nextcloud T-shirt, please bring and wear it! If not, then there will be T-shirts available!
• Headphones: There will be free time and areas to work in, so be sure to bring your own ear buds or headphones if that’s your thing to get in the zone.
• Laptop (+ charger): You will need to bring your own laptop if you want to use one, as we will not have ones for rent or borrowing.

Our event venue

Our venue MotionLab.Berlin is unique to say the least. The large industrial space of 1.500 sqm is full of inviting areas to work like spacious open spaces as well as many small nooks and corners to retreat to – including a renovated bus!

Regarding the hygience and safety, MotionLab.Berlin has all the mandatory protocols for upholding a safe environment, including first aid kits around the building and an in-house staff that keeps things running smoothly.

We thank you for your cooperation in being mindful of others to maintain a healthy and safe event.

We hope you enjoy this space and use it to your full advantage!

owl_simple_slider.on('click', function(e) { owl_stop_autoplay(); }); function owl_stop_autoplay() { //console.log('autoplay stopped.'); owl_simple_slider.trigger('stop.owl.autoplay'); }

});

Arrival information and instructions

To get to our venue MotionLab.Berlin, the most convenient way is to take public transport with the bus or S-Bahn. The closest S-Bahn station is Treptower Park. The easiest way to enter is via Jordanstrasse, 3rd entrance. To your left, you will find Hall 20 – MotionLab.Berlin.

We recommend to put in the following address into a Maps app on your mobile device:

MotionLab.Berlin in Treptow
Bouchéstrasse 12, Halle 20
12435 Berlin

Upon your arrival, there will be some signs to help guide you.

There is free street parking available but it can fill up. Bikes, scooters, etc. can be parked on the commercial yard, The Bouché-Höfe.

Admission

Once you’ve entered the building, you will be greeted at our registration desk where you will check in, receive a badge and lanyard (if you didn’t bring your own lanyard from the last Conference), and have the opportunity to be able to ask any questions you might have.

Code of conduct

The Code of Conduct presents a summary of the shared values and “common sense” thinking in our community. The basic social ingredients that hold our project together include:

• Be considerate
• Be respectful
• Be collaborative
• Be pragmatic
• Support others in the community
• Get support from others in the community
• Our community

Read our code of conduct here.

Sustainability

Nextcloud is committed to sustainable, responsible practices and ensuring empathy in a (digital) society. As we host a major in-person event, we are aware of our social responsibility and environmental impact. Therefore, we will recycle all we can and try to avoid waste.

As for your contribution, we ask you to bring your old lanyard and/or Nextloud T-shirt from a previous event to help our cause. We hope to make the #NextcloudConf24 a sustainable and friendly environment for all so we can continue these events in the future responsibly.

Food & drinks

Every day of the conference there will be access to free water (regular and sparkling), soft drinks, tea, and coffee. The fridges will be re-stocked regularly so there won’t be any shortages!

In addition, a complimentary lunch is provided during the two days of the conference including vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, and gluten-free options. By registering for the event, you already filled out your dietary preferences. On Saturday for the party, we will provide pizza which will also have vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, and gluten-free options.

Breakfast, snacks and dinners (excluding Saturday night) are on the attendee.

Accessibility & inclusion

We are committed to #NextcloudConf24 being an accessible event to everyone who wants to participate.

The entire conference will be held in English, however there’s a good chance you will meet other people attending who speak your native language as we attract many international visitors.

The venue is completely barrier-free, wheelchair accessible and accessible for persons with disabilities. A quiet space will also be available where people can have a quiet moment if needed.

Photos and privacy

As every year, we will be taking photos and videos throughout the event purely for our marketing purposes i.e. photos for our website and a compilation video of the event. If you don’t want your photo taken or don’t want to be in a video, please let us know during your registration time.

At the Nextcloud Conference, we want everyone to feel part of the community and rest assured they are safe and feel heard. It’s a great time for unity and togetherness as we have fun, share ideas, learn and grow. If at any time you get stuck, have any questions, or just need a mentor, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team via email, Twitter, or through other attendees.

Connect with us

Be sure to use the hashtag #NextcloudConf24 and connect with us on Mastodon, LinkedIn, Instagram and ex-Twitter, or join our forum to spread the word and share your experience!

Won’t be able to make it to Berlin?

We’re happy to share that we’ll be offering a livestream option for our Nextcloud Community Conference, so you can join in from anywhere in the world. If you have already registered for the event, you’ll receive the livestream link before the event via email.

#NextcloudConf24 survey

After the #NextcloudConf24, we will provide an optional survey for you to provide feedback about the conference and share your event experience with us. The survey will be available already during the event and we’ll send it afterward in our newsletter!

See you there!

We can’t wait to welcoming you in Berlin and work together towards Building a safer digital world!

Not registered yet?

There’s still time! Register for the Nextcloud Community Conference, on September 14-15 in Berlin.

Nextcloud Conference 2024

The post Everything you need to know about the Nextcloud Community Conference 2024! appeared first on Nextcloud.

About the update

Update 29.0.6 includes a number of important improvements in Nextcloud Hub 8, for example a critical fix to tackle setup issues on slow hardware and a stability improvement for Nextcloud Text. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Make the most of your platform with Nextcloud Hub 8

Even more automated and optimized all around, Nextcloud Hub 8 is here to give you back control over your time. Upgrade today to unlock multiple new features in your favourite platform:

• Nextcloud Assistant: Chat summaries, Nextcloud Mail reply suggestions, answers based on your data, and more!
• Interactive previews for files, folders, boards and events
• Federated chat and message editing in Talk
• Mini-apps based on Tables
• Public Collectives sharing, previews and QR-codes
• Manage your team resources like a pro with Nextcloud Teams
• Forms: automatically sync with a spreadsheet
• And much more

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post New maintenance update for Nextcloud Hub 8 is available appeared first on Nextcloud.

As the #NextcloudConf24 is just around the corner, we would like to additionally present you with the full program for the weekend. From our keynote speakers and panelists, to live podcasting, lightning talks and workshops, we have a full agenda booked that we cannot wait to experience with you!

Keynote speakers

Whether you’re intrigued to learn more about mass surveillance and data privacy from Dr. Constanze Kurz or European technological sovereignty by Prof. Björn Lundell, you are sure to gain new insights.

On Saturday, September 14th at 10AM, we will kickoff the event with a special keynote announcement on Hub 9 by the Nextcloud team followed by the other keynote speakers.

Live podcasting session

On Saturday, September 14th, you will have the opportunity to listen to our live podcasting session with Björn Lundell and Brent Gervais as they deep dive in a fruitful conversation about the open source in the public sector, public procurement, digital government and other topics.

Panel session – How to contribute?

Nextcloud wouldn’t be where it is without the community of contributors

On Sunday, September 15th, join Nimisha Vijay, designer at Nextcloud, as she puts the spotlight on 3 contributor stories from Nextcloud’s vibrant community.

Lightning talks

On both Saturday and Sunday of our Nextcloud Community Conference weekend, we will host our famous Lightning Talks!

Lightning talks are ~5 minute talks covering a wide range of topics from how to build an app to topics on data privacy.

Workshops

After the Lightning Talks on both days, we host knowledge sharing workshops so you can learn a new skill or get motivated!

• Build your first Nextcloud app by Nextcloud team
• Join the Nextcloud forums & Contribute by the Forum Crew
• Setup of a local docker-based development setup by Christian Wolf
• Nextcloud on SUSE Rancher Harvester by Scott Williams

On Sunday, September 15th we will host an 1 hour long hands-on Android app development session. A collaborative hacking session focused on brainstorming new functionalities, squashing bugs, and introducing new engineers to our apps by Tobias Kaminsky.

If you want more information on specific details of the day, like how to get to the venue and what to bring, refer to our All you need to know blog post!

Group photo

On Saturday, September 14th, we will take in the stage area the famous group photo of Nextcloud’s dynamic community. If you want to be part of it, please stay on the stage area after the Q&A section of the Hub 9 announcement.

Party, code, network

We want to make sure that in this event we will have a lot of time to meet each other in person, relax, code and have fun. At the end of Day 1, stay with us for the party which will include pizza, drinks, music and the beautiful crowd!

A networking space and co-working area will be available for you.

See you there!

We look forward to meeting you!

Be sure to use the hashtag #NextcloudConf24 on all your social media platforms to spread the word and share your experience!

Can’t come? Join the live stream!

Not able to join us in person? We’re inviting you to sign up for remote participation and join the livestream!

Join us!

The post Nextcloud Community Conference Program 2024: Keynotes, panel sessions, live podcast & more! appeared first on Nextcloud.

This blog is your guide to everything you need to know about the Nextcloud Community Conference 2024 happening in Berlin, Germany.

Our goal is to help you feel prepared, relaxed and excited for an incredible week!

Community Conference and Contributor Week schedule

What to expect?

At Nextcloud Community Conference, get ready for a fun weekend of coding, design, discussions, talks, and fun! Connect with the global Nextcloud Contributor Community and be part of shaping the future of Nextcloud.

During the Contributor Week you’ll be able to sit and code with like-minded individuals – developers, coders, entrepreneurs and designers – for the whole week. You’ll also have plenty of spaces to enjoy a meal or snack, take time for yourself, and unwind.

What’s on the agenda?

• Nextcloud Hub 9 will be released on September 14th at 10:00 AM CEST during the opening keynote and on a live premiere event on YouTube
• Inspiring keynotes by Dr. Constanze Kurz & Dr. Björn Lundell
• Engaging panel sessions: ‘Building a safer digital world’ & ‘How to contribute’
• Hands-on lightning talks on data privacy, open source & Nextcloud related topics
• Knowledge-sharing workshops by long-time Nextcloud contributors and the team
• Networking & coding time,
• Famous Saturday party  (Plus, enjoy great drinks and pizza!)

What to bring?

• Lanyards: In light of sustainability, we would ask attendees who have come before to bring their lanyard. If you haven’t been before, don’t worry, we will have lanyards and badges for you to wear.
• Nextcloud T-shirt: If you have a Nextcloud T-shirt, please bring and wear it! If not, then there will be T-shirts available!
• Headphones: There will be free time and areas to work in, so be sure to bring your own ear buds or headphones if that’s your thing to get in the zone.
• Laptop (+ charger): You will need to bring your own laptop if you want to use one, as we will not have ones for rent or borrowing.

Our event venue

Our venue MotionLab.Berlin is unique to say the least. The large industrial space of 1.500 sqm is full of inviting areas to work like spacious open spaces as well as many small nooks and corners to retreat to – including a renovated bus!

Regarding the hygience and safety, MotionLab.Berlin has all the mandatory protocols for upholding a safe environment, including first aid kits around the building and an in-house staff that keeps things running smoothly.

We thank you for your cooperation in being mindful of others to maintain a healthy and safe event.

We hope you enjoy this space and use it to your full advantage!

Arrival information and instructions

To get to our venue MotionLab.Berlin, the most convenient way is to take public transport with the bus or S-Bahn. The closest S-Bahn station is Treptower Park. The easiest way to enter is via Jordanstrasse, 3rd entrance. To your left, you will find Hall 20 – MotionLab.Berlin.

We recommend to put in the following address into a Maps app on your mobile device:

MotionLab.Berlin in Treptow
Bouchéstrasse 12, Halle 20
12435 Berlin

Upon your arrival, there will be some signs to help guide you.

There is free street parking available but it can fill up. Bikes, scooters, etc. can be parked on the commercial yard, The Bouché-Höfe.

Admission

Once you’ve entered the building, you will be greeted at our registration desk where you will check in, receive a badge and lanyard (if you didn’t bring your own lanyard from the last Conference), and have the opportunity to be able to ask any questions you might have.

Code of conduct

The Code of Conduct presents a summary of the shared values and “common sense” thinking in our community. The basic social ingredients that hold our project together include:

• Be considerate
• Be respectful
• Be collaborative
• Be pragmatic
• Support others in the community
• Get support from others in the community
• Our community

Read our code of conduct here.

Sustainability

Nextcloud is committed to sustainable, responsible practices and ensuring empathy in a (digital) society. As we host a major in-person event, we are aware of our social responsibility and environmental impact. Therefore, we will recycle all we can and try to avoid waste.

As for your contribution, we ask you to bring your old lanyard and/or Nextloud T-shirt from a previous event to help our cause. We hope to make the #NextcloudConf24 a sustainable and friendly environment for all so we can continue these events in the future responsibly.

Food & drinks

Every day of the conference there will be access to free water (regular and sparkling), soft drinks, tea, and coffee. The fridges will be re-stocked regularly so there won’t be any shortages!

In addition, a complimentary lunch is provided during the two days of the conference including vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, and gluten-free options. By registering for the event, you already filled out your dietary preferences. On Saturday for the party, we will provide pizza which will also have vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, and gluten-free options.

Breakfast, snacks and dinners (excluding Saturday night) are on the attendee.

Accessibility & inclusion

We are committed to #NextcloudConf24 being an accessible event to everyone who wants to participate.

The entire conference will be held in English, however there’s a good chance you will meet other people attending who speak your native language as we attract many international visitors.

The venue is completely barrier-free, wheelchair accessible and accessible for persons with disabilities. A quiet space will also be available where people can have a quiet moment if needed.

Photos and privacy

As every year, we will be taking photos and videos throughout the event purely for our marketing purposes i.e. photos for our website and a compilation video of the event. If you don’t want your photo taken or don’t want to be in a video, please let us know during your registration time.

At the Nextcloud Conference, we want everyone to feel part of the community and rest assured they are safe and feel heard. It’s a great time for unity and togetherness as we have fun, share ideas, learn and grow. If at any time you get stuck, have any questions, or just need a mentor, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team via email, Twitter, or through other attendees.

Connect with us

Be sure to use the hashtag #NextcloudConf24 and connect with us on Mastodon, LinkedIn, Instagram and ex-Twitter, or join our forum to spread the word and share your experience!

Won’t be able to make it to Berlin?

We’re happy to share that we’ll be offering a livestream option for our Nextcloud Community Conference, so you can join in from anywhere in the world. If you have already registered for the event, you’ll receive the livestream link before the event via email.

#NextcloudConf24 survey

After the #NextcloudConf24, we will provide an optional survey for you to provide feedback about the conference and share your event experience with us. The survey will be available already during the event and we’ll send it afterward in our newsletter!

See you there!

We can’t wait to welcoming you in Berlin and work together towards Building a safer digital world!

Not registered yet?

There’s still time! Register for the Nextcloud Community Conference, on September 14-15 in Berlin.

Nextcloud Conference 2024

The post Everything you need to know about the Nextcloud Community Conference 2024! appeared first on Nextcloud.

About the update

Update 29.0.6 includes a number of important improvements in Nextcloud Hub 8, for example a critical fix to tackle setup issues on slow hardware and a stability improvement for Nextcloud Text. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Make the most of your platform with Nextcloud Hub 8

Even more automated and optimized all around, Nextcloud Hub 8 is here to give you back control over your time. Upgrade today to unlock multiple new features in your favourite platform:

• Nextcloud Assistant: Chat summaries, Nextcloud Mail reply suggestions, answers based on your data, and more!
• Interactive previews for files, folders, boards and events
• Federated chat and message editing in Talk
• Mini-apps based on Tables
• Public Collectives sharing, previews and QR-codes
• Manage your team resources like a pro with Nextcloud Teams
• Forms: automatically sync with a spreadsheet
• And much more

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post New maintenance update for Nextcloud Hub 8 is available appeared first on Nextcloud.

“It was logic: If we want to learn more about open source, then we need to meet Nextcloud.”

– Manuel Liesenfeld, Head of Head of Public Sector Division at Bechtle AG

With the recent accelerating pace of innovation, public sector institutions throughout Europe have come to prioritize digital sovereignty as a primary driver in designing resilient IT systems.

Manuel Liesenfeld, Head of Head of Public Sector Division at Bechtle AG, discusses the current innovations in the European public sector and the obligation of public buyers to deliver resilient and sovereign digital solutions that put citizens first.

We explore how Bechtle – Germany’s largest IT system house – and Nextcloud’s recent partnership in offering digitally sovereign collaboration services for the European public sector is an important step in building resilient IT systems that prioritize security and data protection.

Manuel and Brent discuss many other topics, including:

• The importance of digital sovereignty in the public sector
• The benefits and advantages of open source solutions for public sector customers
• How Bechtle and Nextcloud are together committed to helping public sector customers succeed with open source technologies
• How Nextcloud is helping Bechtle’s focus on providing on-prem opportunities for AI, resilience, and data sovereignty.
• Advice on the most critical aspects of digital transitions for organizations, especially those in the public sector
• How Bechtle and Nextcloud’s sovereign AI approach address the challenges of AI adoption when working with private data

Episode Links

• Manuel Liesenfeld – LinkedIn
• Nextcloud Hub 9 launch event
• Nextcloud Community Conference 2024
• Nextcloud Enterprise Day 2024 – November 6 in Frankfurt
• Bechtle and Nextcloud offer digitally sovereign collaboration services for the public sector
• Digital Sovereignty Solutions in Europe | Bechtle
• Nextcloud Enterprise for the public sector
• Public Money, Public Code
• Nextcloud Office Hours: An inside look at Nextcloud Hub 9 release

The post Bechtle and Nextcloud: Navigating Digital Transitions in the Public Sector appeared first on Nextcloud.

About the updates

The updates include a number of important bug fixes and performance optimization, as well as other improvements in all supported Nextcloud versions. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Updates are available for:

• Nextcloud Hub 7 (version 28.0.9)
• Nextcloud Hub 8 (version 29.0.5)

Make the most of your platform with Nextcloud Hub 8

Even more automated and optimized all around, Nextcloud Hub 8 is here to give you back control over your time. Upgrade today to unlock multiple new features in your favourite platform:

• Nextcloud Assistant: Chat summaries, Nextcloud Mail reply suggestions, answers based on your data, and more!
• Interactive previews for files, folders, boards and events
• Federated chat and message editing in Talk
• Mini-apps based on Tables
• Public Collectives sharing, previews and QR-codes
• Manage your team resources like a pro with Nextcloud Teams
• Forms: automatically sync with a spreadsheet
• And much more

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post August maintenance updates for Nextcloud Hub 7 and 8 appeared first on Nextcloud.

Last year we were joined by Roundcube, the most popular open source webmail client. At the time we promised to invest in the project and since then we have brought back the mailing lists and accelerating development. And today – we introduce enterprise support for Roundcube!

A need for enterprise support for Roundcube

Since Roundcube joined us, Nextcloud began to receive requests from large hosting companies for support. While Roundcube is lightweight and relatively easy to run, businesses prefer that their business critical applications are backed by a serious SLA. There has never been an official Enterprise support offering for Roundcube, but Nextcloud has extensive experience servicing large organisations.

So, today, we are excited to introduce the first official offering of enterprise support for Roundcube! It is tailored specifically for mail providers running large instances with thousands to millions of end users. We also offer our services to help businesses, universities and the public sector, but our offering makes the most sense for larger installations.

Our goal is to help organisations that want to deploy Roundcube – lowering the barrier to entry and helping Roundcube grow. And, of course, the improvements, bug fixes and funds that come out of this will go back into Roundcube, making it a better product for everybody!

Find more about how and why Roundcube joined Nextcloud in this interview with the founders of Roundcube and Nextcloud!

Partners: Open-Xchange, Stalwart and Mailvelope

We are NOT doing this alone, on the contrary. We’ve assembled a top-team of industry veterans and up-and-coming talent, working with mail server solutions Dovecot Pro and Stalwart, as well as the privacy experts at Mailvelope. Together, we’ve created a complete offering of enterprise support for Roundcube for companies looking to host an amazing email solution.

Reliable email with Dovecot Pro

Dovecot Pro by Open-Xchange is a full-service email platform that delivers dynamic scalability, high performance, efficient utilisation of hardware, and outstanding support to the world’s largest Telcos, ISP’s, and Hosters.
Learn more here.

Secure your emails with Mailvelope

Offer customers easy End-to-End encrypted email OpenPGP-based based using Mailvelope. Mailvelope integrates closely with Roundcube, offering a security differentiation to other platforms.
Learn more here.

Serving mail, quickly with Stalwart

Stalwart Mail Server is a secure, fast, robust and scalable on premises email server with IMAP, JMAP and SMTP support. It offers key features, from message authentication standards and transport security to advanced Spam and Phishing detection technology. It offers multiple storage technologies, web based administration and industry-leading security.
Learn more here.

Pick a mail server, choose if you’d like to add PGP encryption, and you’ll be online in no time. Interested? Contact us through the form on our web page!

Background on the support for Roundcube

“The user feedback clearly indicated demand for enterprise support,” said Frank Karlitschek, Founder & CEO at Nextcloud. “The first official enterprise support offering since Roundcube’s initial launch in 2008 delivers on this need and will make Roundcube more accessible to large organisations, encouraging broader adoption of Roundcube and directing resources toward its development.” 

Hosting companies around the world such as HostGator, Media Temple, Gandi, OVH and others use Roundcube. In addition, Roundcube is used by many well known universities such as Harvard University to provide email services to students and staff. We believe that these and other organisations will greatly benefit from enterprise support for Roundcube.

Frank Hoberg, founder at Open-Xchange, said: “Our partnership with Nextcloud brings together two major players in open-source based software to deliver an enterprise-grade email backend support option to the wider Roundcube community. Based on Dovecot Pro, this delivers an email backend with range of advanced features, including its exclusive high availability architecture, extended search, and document previews, along with the highest level of support for mission-critical email they demand.”

Mauro De Gennaro, president of Stalwart Labs LLC said: “We are excited to collaborate with Nextcloud on delivering a reliable and modern enterprise email platform to hosting providers across the globe.”

Thomas Oberndoerfer, founder of Mailvelope said: “We are excited to partner with Nextcloud to integrate our OpenPGP-based end-to-end encryption with Roundcube. This collaboration ensures that users can enjoy secure and private email communications seamlessly within their browser.”

Future releases of Roundcube will be able to work with the new JMAP standard supported by Stalwart, modernising and streamlining email management. Roundcube Enterprise is designed for mail providers, complementing the dedicated Nextcloud Mail solution integrated in Nextcloud Hub, which has a focus on providing collaboration services within enterprises.

Organisations interested in the enterprise support offering can learn more and get in contact on our dedicated Roundcube page.

Leave your thoughts below, we’d love to read them!

The post Introducing enterprise support for Roundcube appeared first on Nextcloud.

How does the world’s largest water rescue organization develop new training methods and exchange data during disaster control operations? By using Nextcloud of course!

For the IT team at Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG) or the German Life Saving Association, it was crucial to provide its users the best possible experience to get their life-saving work done. Combining the benefits of open-source software and the security, expandability and simplicity of Nextcloud, their team found the perfect solution.

About The German Life Saving Association

The German Life Saving Association, DLRG is the world’s largest voluntary organization for water rescue with over 600,000 members. Since its founding in 1913, the DLRG has made it its mission to prevent people from drowning. The main tasks of the organization include swimming and lifesaving training, raising awareness about dangers in and around bodies of water, as well as water rescue services.

In approximately 2,000 clubs, volunteers contribute over eight million hours of voluntary work each year for the people of Germany. More than 49,000 members annually ensure the safety of bathers and water sports enthusiasts at around 2,700 bodies of water.

Collaboration across boundaries with Nextcloud

DLRG desired a central location to store documents and files that could be easily accessed anytime, anywhere and by anyone with permissions. Their goal to set up file exchange across organizational boundaries was met with Nextcloud, where no IT intermediary has to be involved, streamlining efficiency and productivity.

For these reasons and more Nextcloud Enterprise was the ideal solution:

• Open source software that they could operate and integrate into their own infrastructure
• Have a central location accessible from anywhere
• Data protection-compliant file storage
• Ability to exchange files across organizational boundaries (no intermediary user) with group folders
• Guaranteed security with regular updates
• Customization with various add-ons
• Compliance with GDPR
• Nextcloud Groupware: Calendar
• Nextcloud Forms
• Work on mobile devices
• Strong community base
• Long-term, lifelong solution

Implementing Nextcloud Hub

DLRG’s Nextcloud instance is directly on their own servers, making it extremely date secure. It is operated on virtual Linux machines and delivered via several virtual web servers. Up to 20,000 users have access to one or more folders!

A solution that fits user needs

Implementing the Nextcloud Content Collaboration Platform was the key to give users the much needed flexibility and autonomy in their work.

Members say they love the simplicity of central file management in Nextcloud Files and easy access and sharing with Group Folders. In addition, being able to collaborate on a shared document in Nextcloud Office, even from their mobile phone, is extremely valued. Nextcloud Calendar is also used widely for planning and scheduling.

Lifelong data security

Since the introduction of Nextcloud at DLRG, data protection has significantly improved. As previously files were stored decentrally with various commercial providers, today members can store their data on the association’s own servers in compliance with the GDPR.

With the ability to perform regular software updates, DLRG can rely on Nextcloud and can guarantee security for its users and the people outside their organization.

One aspect they are currently working on updating is the expansion of storage capacity and in the near future, the further development of automations is planned.

Love this story?

Nextcloud is used by many organizations, putting the control of data back into the hands of the people, helping to make a difference around the world.

Discover another inspiring success story!

The post DLRG’s innovative use of Nextcloud Hub for managing the world’s largest water rescue network appeared first on Nextcloud.

With the release of Nextcloud Hub 8, Nextcloud Talk enables federated chats, extending the range of cross-instance features available in Nextcloud Hub. In this article, learn how to connect users across different Nextcloud instances to organize collaboration between distant teams.

Nextcloud Talk is a chat and videoconferencing platform that enhances the flexibility of your daily work. With app integrations available through Smart Picker, supported interactive widgets from multiple Nextcloud Hub apps, AI-powered features, and more, Nextcloud Talk enables rich communication while prioritizing your privacy. Federated chatting adds even more flexibility, providing an additional bridge between Nextcloud instances for faster and safer communication.

What is federated chat

The federated chat feature is ased on the Open Cloud Mesh (OCM) open standard developed at CERN with the help of Nextcloud and other open source projects. Similar to federated sharing, it uses federated user IDs to enable cross-instance data exchange. To understand how federation works in Nextcloud, you can watch our recent webinar.

The federated chat feature lets you create group chats between the users from federated Nextcloud Talk instances to enable written chat communication among the teams. Although video calls are not supported at the moment, plenty of features are available in federated chats, including user mentions, markdown commands to format message texts, chat polls, and more.

Federated chats can bring customers, partners or colleagues from their instance to your own for easier communication, ensuring that you maintain maximum privacy and keep the data within your perimeter. It is ideal for temporary projects and shared tasks, complimenting other federated features in Nextcloud like file sharing and federated user groups created via Nextcloud Teams.

How to create a federated chat

To create a group chat with federated users, you need to obtain their Federated Cloud IDs. The Federated Cloud ID consists of a user name and an instance address and looks like person@cloud.example.com. You can retrieve it in Settings > Sharing > Federated Cloud.

To add a federated user to a chat, simply put their Federated Cloud ID in the search field of the Participants tab of your chat. Click add, and user will receive an invitation to the chat via notification.

Other updates in Nextcloud Talk

Other updates in Nextcloud Talk released with Nextcloud Hub 8 include:

• Message editing
• Draggable speaker video
• Improved call UI
• Flavored markdown support
• Unified Search in individual Talk room
• Accepting individual users when the lobby is enabled
• Caching unsent messages in the browser
• Improved highlight for “Stop screenshare”

Regain control over your time with Nextcloud Hub 8

Federated chatting is one of the most noteworthy features in the new Nextcloud Talk. Nextcloud Hub 8 offers even more updates that help you work even more efficiently and comfortably, saving a lot of time for you. From new AI tools in Nextcloud Assistant to new apps and serious performance improvements throughout the platform, there are many reasons to upgrade to the latest Nextcloud Hub.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

More articles about Nextcloud Hub 8 features

The post How federated chat works in Nextcloud Talk appeared first on Nextcloud.

July 19 saw a CrowdStrike update taking down countless Microsoft systems, disrupting flights, surgeries, banking and more all over the world. The incredible impact this single outage had shows the importance of digital resilience, especially in the public sector. This can only credibly be achieved by decentralization and diversity in infrastructure and technology.

Incredible impact of CrowdStrike-Microsoft outage

While German satirical news site Der Postillion noted that fax machines were not impacted so the German public sector was fine, the effects could be felt everywhere.

Many politicians have already come out with statements about digital resiliency. In the Netherlands the minister of Justice noted there should be plans to deal with the fall-out of events like this. “Concentrating production can concentrate risk, so that a single natural disaster or disruption has cascading effects,” US Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan wrote in a series of posts on X.

Existing and upcoming legislation

There is a number of legislative initatives to protect the resilience of infrastructure. Examples include DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, for the financial sector, coming 2025, and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) for consumer technology. The Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems, NIS, specifically targets the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure and digital services, mandating security measures and incident reporting.

In the US, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) mandates federal agencies to implement an information security program, including measures to mitigate the impact of IT outages. Additionally, there’s a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework that provides guidelines for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity.

But none of the regulations seem to effectively tackle risks related to the centralization of IT. This means that the digital sovereignty and resilience of the public sector, as well as hospitals, banks and other critical infrastructure, continues to be critically endangered. A mono-culture of services delivered by just a handful of big tech firms threatens the continuity of service in case of mistakes, cyber-attacks and political conflicts.

Solutions

While this was just a mistake, a sustained cyber attack would have far more devastating consequences, and that is not to speak of attacks on physical infrastructure. Underseas cables are incredibly vulnerable, and in 2021 Russia also showed that satellites can be downed by rockets.

The key to digital resilience is decentralization and heterogeneity. In the end, every IT system will go down at some point. An over-reliance on a single service is thus inevitably a risk. Even if that vendor is ‘too big too fail’ and has tons of redundancy and data centers.

Decentralize and federate

The public sector in particular should be following a focused strategy to differentiate their IT infrastructure, reducing the reliance on a small number of big tech giants. 

First, a strong multi-vendor, multi-platform strategy can do wonders against cyber threats. But beyond that, the solutions themselves should be less centralized.

The cloud itself is a particular risk – globally connected datacenters might have a bigger capacity to absorb denial of service attacks, but they are simultaneously more vulnerable to mistakes and more advanced cyber attacks. Technologies that are fundamentally distributed and federated, rather than relying on a single point of failure, offer a big advantage.

With on-premises solutions, the most critical platforms can even be entirely air gapped, disconnected from the internet, either all the time or in response to attacks. This can ensure their availability even in the worst case scenario.

Open Source brings resilience

Open source solutions are not only more robust in the face of constant security threats. They also provide more transparency in their functioning. When there are issues, engineers can dive deeper than in black-box solutions, to the point where they simply read the code or even modify it to add extra information to hunt down problems. Patches from vendors like Crowdstrike, if they were open source, could be scrutinised before deployment.

Perhaps most importantly, access to their source and more widely distributed knowledge of their code base means open source products can be patched and fixed during emergencies even without vendor help.

There are solutions to the risks and economic damage caused by our dependence on just a few big tech vendors. It’s time for decisions now.

The post Global outage shows lack of digital sovereignty and resilience appeared first on Nextcloud.

About the updates

The updates include a number of important bug fixes and performance optimization, as well as other improvements in all supported Nextcloud versions. You can find the full changelog on our website.

Updates are available for:

• Nextcloud Hub 7 (version 28.0.9)
• Nextcloud Hub 8 (version 29.0.5)

Make the most of your platform with Nextcloud Hub 8

Even more automated and optimized all around, Nextcloud Hub 8 is here to give you back control over your time. Upgrade today to unlock multiple new features in your favourite platform:

• Nextcloud Assistant: Chat summaries, Nextcloud Mail reply suggestions, answers based on your data, and more!
• Interactive previews for files, folders, boards and events
• Federated chat and message editing in Talk
• Mini-apps based on Tables
• Public Collectives sharing, previews and QR-codes
• Manage your team resources like a pro with Nextcloud Teams
• Forms: automatically sync with a spreadsheet
• And much more

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

Always keep your server up to date!

Nextcloud’s minor releases primarily focus on addressing security vulnerabilities and functionality bugs, avoiding major system overhauls that could jeopardize user data. Keeping your server up to date is vital, and our approach to testing and validation ensures that upgrading to minor releases is generally smooth and reliable.

For mission-critical Nextcloud systems in enterprise settings, consider switching to Nextcloud Enterprise. The tier provides you with ultimate deployment confidence: direct access to the Nextcloud engineering team, full assistance throughout deployment and integration, and peace of mind for system administrators. If you’re responsible for maintaining Nextcloud in your setting, this option may be the ideal solution for you.

The post August maintenance updates for Nextcloud Hub 7 and 8 appeared first on Nextcloud.

Last year we were joined by Roundcube, the most popular open source webmail client. At the time we promised to invest in the project and since then we have brought back the mailing lists and accelerating development. And today – we introduce enterprise support for Roundcube!

A need for enterprise support for Roundcube

Since Roundcube joined us, Nextcloud began to receive requests from large hosting companies for support. While Roundcube is lightweight and relatively easy to run, businesses prefer that their business critical applications are backed by a serious SLA. There has never been an official Enterprise support offering for Roundcube, but Nextcloud has extensive experience servicing large organisations.

So, today, we are excited to introduce the first official offering of enterprise support for Roundcube! It is tailored specifically for mail providers running large instances with thousands to millions of end users. We also offer our services to help businesses, universities and the public sector, but our offering makes the most sense for larger installations.

Our goal is to help organisations that want to deploy Roundcube – lowering the barrier to entry and helping Roundcube grow. And, of course, the improvements, bug fixes and funds that come out of this will go back into Roundcube, making it a better product for everybody!

Find more about how and why Roundcube joined Nextcloud in this interview with the founders of Roundcube and Nextcloud!

Partners: Open-Xchange, Stalwart and Mailvelope

We are NOT doing this alone, on the contrary. We’ve assembled a top-team of industry veterans and up-and-coming talent, working with mail server solutions Dovecot Pro and Stalwart, as well as the privacy experts at Mailvelope. Together, we’ve created a complete offering of enterprise support for Roundcube for companies looking to host an amazing email solution.

Reliable email with Dovecot Pro

Dovecot Pro by Open-Xchange is a full-service email platform that delivers dynamic scalability, high performance, efficient utilisation of hardware, and outstanding support to the world’s largest Telcos, ISP’s, and Hosters.
Learn more here.

Secure your emails with Mailvelope

Offer customers easy End-to-End encrypted email OpenPGP-based based using Mailvelope. Mailvelope integrates closely with Roundcube, offering a security differentiation to other platforms.
Learn more here.

Serving mail, quickly with Stalwart

Stalwart Mail Server is a secure, fast, robust and scalable on premises email server with IMAP, JMAP and SMTP support. It offers key features, from message authentication standards and transport security to advanced Spam and Phishing detection technology. It offers multiple storage technologies, web based administration and industry-leading security.
Learn more here.

Pick a mail server, choose if you’d like to add PGP encryption, and you’ll be online in no time. Interested? Contact us through the form on our web page!

Background on the support for Roundcube

“The user feedback clearly indicated demand for enterprise support,” said Frank Karlitschek, Founder & CEO at Nextcloud. “The first official enterprise support offering since Roundcube’s initial launch in 2008 delivers on this need and will make Roundcube more accessible to large organisations, encouraging broader adoption of Roundcube and directing resources toward its development.” 

Hosting companies around the world such as HostGator, Media Temple, Gandi, OVH and others use Roundcube. In addition, Roundcube is used by many well known universities such as Harvard University to provide email services to students and staff. We believe that these and other organisations will greatly benefit from enterprise support for Roundcube.

Frank Hoberg, founder at Open-Xchange, said: “Our partnership with Nextcloud brings together two major players in open-source based software to deliver an enterprise-grade email backend support option to the wider Roundcube community. Based on Dovecot Pro, this delivers an email backend with range of advanced features, including its exclusive high availability architecture, extended search, and document previews, along with the highest level of support for mission-critical email they demand.”

Mauro De Gennaro, president of Stalwart Labs LLC said: “We are excited to collaborate with Nextcloud on delivering a reliable and modern enterprise email platform to hosting providers across the globe.”

Thomas Oberndoerfer, founder of Mailvelope said: “We are excited to partner with Nextcloud to integrate our OpenPGP-based end-to-end encryption with Roundcube. This collaboration ensures that users can enjoy secure and private email communications seamlessly within their browser.”

Future releases of Roundcube will be able to work with the new JMAP standard supported by Stalwart, modernising and streamlining email management. Roundcube Enterprise is designed for mail providers, complementing the dedicated Nextcloud Mail solution integrated in Nextcloud Hub, which has a focus on providing collaboration services within enterprises.

Organisations interested in the enterprise support offering can learn more and get in contact on our dedicated Roundcube page.

Leave your thoughts below, we’d love to read them!

The post Introducing enterprise support for Roundcube appeared first on Nextcloud.

Last week, the world was shocked to discover the risks of our IT mono-culture. Having all eggs in one basked turned out to be a bad idea. Especially the public sector should make sure their services don’t go down when somebody makes a mistake, or in the worse case of a cyber attack. We need a digitally sovereign AI Copilot for Europe!

We have good news today. With our partner plusserver we launch a full SAAS collaboration platform with document sharing, video chat & groupware. And unique: it comes with a built in AI assistant that runs entirely in a German data center. No data leaks, no training on the files you upload or questions you ask from the AI Assistant.

Given even the US Congress doesn’t trust ChatGPT or Microsoft CoPilot, there are good reasons to want control over the data send to and from an AI service! Learn more in our blog post about our approach to AI.

A choice of AI models

The all-in-one service uses plusKI, which allows a choice of large language models like the freshly released LLama 3.1 to be used for processing and generating text. Users can use the powerful and well integrated Nextcloud Assistant to see email or chat threads summarized, video calls transcribed, generate images, translate chat messages or create headlines for their documents.

Learn more about the powerful Nextcloud Assistant here.

Available now

This new managed Nextcloud Hub, operated by Nextcloud Platinum partner HKN GmbH, is available for organizations ranging from 50 to 5000 users. The digitally sovereign AI Copilot for Europe offers near-instant availability, making it easier than ever for the public sector to enjoy the benefits of a secure, efficient collaboration platform that protects their digital sovereignty.

plusKI brings cutting edge, open source AI technologies in a compliant and digitally sovereign service to the German market. We are excited to work with Nextcloud to make this available to their customers as back-end to the new generation of the Nextcloud Assistant.

Christian Schmitz, Director Open Source at plusserver

Interested organizations can learn more and sign up to their digitally sovereign AI Copilot for Europe here.

The post First digitally sovereign AI Copilot for Europe now available appeared first on Nextcloud.

How does the world’s largest water rescue organization develop new training methods and exchange data during disaster control operations? By using Nextcloud of course!

For the IT team at Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft (DLRG) or the German Life Saving Association, it was crucial to provide its users the best possible experience to get their life-saving work done. Combining the benefits of open-source software and the security, expandability and simplicity of Nextcloud, their team found the perfect solution.

About The German Life Saving Association

The German Life Saving Association, DLRG is the world’s largest voluntary organization for water rescue with over 600,000 members. Since its founding in 1913, the DLRG has made it its mission to prevent people from drowning. The main tasks of the organization include swimming and lifesaving training, raising awareness about dangers in and around bodies of water, as well as water rescue services.

In approximately 2,000 clubs, volunteers contribute over eight million hours of voluntary work each year for the people of Germany. More than 49,000 members annually ensure the safety of bathers and water sports enthusiasts at around 2,700 bodies of water.

Collaboration across boundaries with Nextcloud

DLRG desired a central location to store documents and files that could be easily accessed anytime, anywhere and by anyone with permissions. Their goal to set up file exchange across organizational boundaries was met with Nextcloud, where no IT intermediary has to be involved, streamlining efficiency and productivity.

For these reasons and more Nextcloud Enterprise was the ideal solution:

• Open source software that they could operate and integrate into their own infrastructure
• Have a central location accessible from anywhere
• Data protection-compliant file storage
• Ability to exchange files across organizational boundaries (no intermediary user) with group folders
• Guaranteed security with regular updates
• Customization with various add-ons
• Compliance with GDPR
• Nextcloud Groupware: Calendar
• Nextcloud Forms
• Work on mobile devices
• Strong community base
• Long-term, lifelong solution

Implementing Nextcloud Hub

DLRG’s Nextcloud instance is directly on their own servers, making it extremely date secure. It is operated on virtual Linux machines and delivered via several virtual web servers. Up to 20,000 users have access to one or more folders!

A solution that fits user needs

Implementing the Nextcloud Content Collaboration Platform was the key to give users the much needed flexibility and autonomy in their work.

Members say they love the simplicity of central file management in Nextcloud Files and easy access and sharing with Group Folders. In addition, being able to collaborate on a shared document in Nextcloud Office, even from their mobile phone, is extremely valued. Nextcloud Calendar is also used widely for planning and scheduling.

Lifelong data security

Since the introduction of Nextcloud at DLRG, data protection has significantly improved. As previously files were stored decentrally with various commercial providers, today members can store their data on the association’s own servers in compliance with the GDPR.

With the ability to perform regular software updates, DLRG can rely on Nextcloud and can guarantee security for its users and the people outside their organization.

One aspect they are currently working on updating is the expansion of storage capacity and in the near future, the further development of automations is planned.

Love this story?

Nextcloud is used by many organizations, putting the control of data back into the hands of the people, helping to make a difference around the world.

Discover another inspiring success story!

The post DLRG’s innovative use of Nextcloud Hub for managing the world’s largest water rescue network appeared first on Nextcloud.

With the release of Nextcloud Hub 8, Nextcloud Talk enables federated chats, extending the range of cross-instance features available in Nextcloud Hub. In this article, learn how to connect users across different Nextcloud instances to organize collaboration between distant teams.

Nextcloud Talk is a chat and videoconferencing platform that enhances the flexibility of your daily work. With app integrations available through Smart Picker, supported interactive widgets from multiple Nextcloud Hub apps, AI-powered features, and more, Nextcloud Talk enables rich communication while prioritizing your privacy. Federated chatting adds even more flexibility, providing an additional bridge between Nextcloud instances for faster and safer communication.

What is federated chat

The federated chat feature is ased on the Open Cloud Mesh (OCM) open standard developed at CERN with the help of Nextcloud and other open source projects. Similar to federated sharing, it uses federated user IDs to enable cross-instance data exchange. To understand how federation works in Nextcloud, you can watch our recent webinar.

The federated chat feature lets you create group chats between the users from federated Nextcloud Talk instances to enable written chat communication among the teams. Although video calls are not supported at the moment, plenty of features are available in federated chats, including user mentions, markdown commands to format message texts, chat polls, and more.

Federated chats can bring customers, partners or colleagues from their instance to your own for easier communication, ensuring that you maintain maximum privacy and keep the data within your perimeter. It is ideal for temporary projects and shared tasks, complimenting other federated features in Nextcloud like file sharing and federated user groups created via Nextcloud Teams.

How to create a federated chat

To create a group chat with federated users, you need to obtain their Federated Cloud IDs. The Federated Cloud ID consists of a user name and an instance address and looks like person@cloud.example.com. You can retrieve it in Settings > Sharing > Federated Cloud.

To add a federated user to a chat, simply put their Federated Cloud ID in the search field of the Participants tab of your chat. Click add, and user will receive an invitation to the chat via notification.

Other updates in Nextcloud Talk

Other updates in Nextcloud Talk released with Nextcloud Hub 8 include:

• Message editing
• Draggable speaker video
• Improved call UI
• Flavored markdown support
• Unified Search in individual Talk room
• Accepting individual users when the lobby is enabled
• Caching unsent messages in the browser
• Improved highlight for “Stop screenshare”

Regain control over your time with Nextcloud Hub 8

Federated chatting is one of the most noteworthy features in the new Nextcloud Talk. Nextcloud Hub 8 offers even more updates that help you work even more efficiently and comfortably, saving a lot of time for you. From new AI tools in Nextcloud Assistant to new apps and serious performance improvements throughout the platform, there are many reasons to upgrade to the latest Nextcloud Hub.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

More articles about Nextcloud Hub 8 features

The post How federated chat works in Nextcloud Talk appeared first on Nextcloud.

July 19 saw a CrowdStrike update taking down countless Microsoft systems, disrupting flights, surgeries, banking and more all over the world. The incredible impact this single outage had shows the importance of digital resilience, especially in the public sector. This can only credibly be achieved by decentralization and diversity in infrastructure and technology.

Incredible impact of CrowdStrike-Microsoft outage

While German satirical news site Der Postillion noted that fax machines were not impacted so the German public sector was fine, the effects could be felt everywhere.

Many politicians have already come out with statements about digital resiliency. In the Netherlands the minister of Justice noted there should be plans to deal with the fall-out of events like this. “Concentrating production can concentrate risk, so that a single natural disaster or disruption has cascading effects,” US Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan wrote in a series of posts on X.

Existing and upcoming legislation

There is a number of legislative initatives to protect the resilience of infrastructure. Examples include DORA, the Digital Operational Resilience Act, for the financial sector, coming 2025, and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) for consumer technology. The Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems, NIS, specifically targets the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure and digital services, mandating security measures and incident reporting.

In the US, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) mandates federal agencies to implement an information security program, including measures to mitigate the impact of IT outages. Additionally, there’s a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework that provides guidelines for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity.

But none of the regulations seem to effectively tackle risks related to the centralization of IT. This means that the digital sovereignty and resilience of the public sector, as well as hospitals, banks and other critical infrastructure, continues to be critically endangered. A mono-culture of services delivered by just a handful of big tech firms threatens the continuity of service in case of mistakes, cyber-attacks and political conflicts.

Solutions

While this was just a mistake, a sustained cyber attack would have far more devastating consequences, and that is not to speak of attacks on physical infrastructure. Underseas cables are incredibly vulnerable, and in 2021 Russia also showed that satellites can be downed by rockets.

The key to digital resilience is decentralization and heterogeneity. In the end, every IT system will go down at some point. An over-reliance on a single service is thus inevitably a risk. Even if that vendor is ‘too big too fail’ and has tons of redundancy and data centers.

Decentralize and federate

The public sector in particular should be following a focused strategy to differentiate their IT infrastructure, reducing the reliance on a small number of big tech giants. 

First, a strong multi-vendor, multi-platform strategy can do wonders against cyber threats. But beyond that, the solutions themselves should be less centralized.

The cloud itself is a particular risk – globally connected datacenters might have a bigger capacity to absorb denial of service attacks, but they are simultaneously more vulnerable to mistakes and more advanced cyber attacks. Technologies that are fundamentally distributed and federated, rather than relying on a single point of failure, offer a big advantage.

With on-premises solutions, the most critical platforms can even be entirely air gapped, disconnected from the internet, either all the time or in response to attacks. This can ensure their availability even in the worst case scenario.

Open Source brings resilience

Open source solutions are not only more robust in the face of constant security threats. They also provide more transparency in their functioning. When there are issues, engineers can dive deeper than in black-box solutions, to the point where they simply read the code or even modify it to add extra information to hunt down problems. Patches from vendors like Crowdstrike, if they were open source, could be scrutinised before deployment.

Perhaps most importantly, access to their source and more widely distributed knowledge of their code base means open source products can be patched and fixed during emergencies even without vendor help.

There are solutions to the risks and economic damage caused by our dependence on just a few big tech vendors. It’s time for decisions now.

The post Global outage shows lack of digital sovereignty and resilience appeared first on Nextcloud.