In which sort of organisation does Nextcloud fit the best?

🏷️ General
1

Hello peeps!

I know that Nextcloud can be used anywhere and by anybody, but it is also true to say that it fits some environments better than others. For example, we support small business that have a traditional on premise server and this is great for when the business in question has a traditional office setup. It means we can lock down systems and have strong oversight on them in the interests of security.

I seems to em though that Nextcloud is actually a better proposition in any organisation that needs to share files and collaborate in a private and secure way but where the people are all working on different systems from different locations and where the organisation does not ‘own’ and can not have oversight on those devices to ensure they are secure.

Examples of such organisations might be clubs, smaller nonprofits with no office but lots of volunteers and trustees. What else goes on this list?

So my question is, in which sort of organisation do you run Nextcloud, and do your users use their own computers or one issued by the organisation that pays for the Nextcloud server?

Many thanks in advance!

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Hello,

Although I am no expert in this field but here are my personal views,

Fit → It’s relative

One size fit all concept is wrong. Fit word itself is relative since needs a different and for that solution needs to be different too.

NextCloud scales very well so depending on need, it can be stripped down or add many apps, modules and functionality. So possibilities are endless.

Do you need NextCloud?

Fundamentals are security and privacy here.

Everyone needs cloud. In todays connected global economy, without communication, nothing will function. Literally, nothing can function without digital communication.

Knowingly or unknowingly, connectivity, ability to share and cloud is used by all of us.

When you look into it, you may see, hand full of large companies are controlling the entire thing. We are completely depended on them and worst, if you read their terms, data privacy is a major concern.

What is NextCloud then?

Basically speaking, it’s that backend code. Similar to which Google Drive / Docs / photos and such type of cloud providers use.

It is open source so anyone can check & have complete trust about data privacy, safety and security.

This piece of software gives you the ability to run & host in your own server. Encrypted & secure. Your data, your rule, within your absolute control.

How do you use it?

From user point a view, it’s not much different than other cloud service providers for Office & such collaborative apps & storage or sharing between people.

You can use the NextCloud iOS / Android / PC apps or use the web browser to access the web interface to do your work.

However, what it different that you need a server to run this nextcloud software. This can be a on premises hardware or you rent a VPS out from server service provider to install a linux server os and nextcloud on it. There are few companies who does it for you, they are those paid hosting providers. → Depending on the scale, cost and your data importance, you choose the way forwards.

It’s Free

It’s your willingness that is holding you back. NextCloud and the OS it runs on are completely free to use. Not just personal but for any commercial use.

NextCloud is giving us, the users a great option. Option to take control of our own data without losing the ability to be on cloud. Full featured and as good, stable and feature rich as the best in business.

Simple Answer

It fits the need of all and any Organization. Question is just the willingness to use.

Thanks.

3

To put it bluntly, Nextcloud is a fit for any org that might use Google Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox, and also many that might not.

My company has migrated to it from Google Workspace. My colleagues are spread out all over the state, and we use it daily for both file storage and communication. We prefer to keep things in-house when possible, so we self-host.

I also run it at home to provide storage for my family’s various devices which encompasses all sorts of stuff, and I self-host that too.

I don’t necessarily agree that companies working locally would not use it and benefit from it even if it’s strictly on-premise access.

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“I don’t necessarily agree that companies working locally would not use it and benefit from it even if it’s strictly on-premise access”

I agree with your sentiment, but Nextcloud does not give us the features we use that are useful to us when we install on or off prem dedicated servers. In our case Windows based servers with Active Directory. What I very much do see is that Nextcloud could be useful to anyone, but for certain organisation types it could be the best single solution rather than a mere component of a whole solution.

5

As I alluded to, and I think you would agree, it could fit some of the needs of ‘any and all organisation’, but it definitely will not fit all of the needs of many organisations. It’s not a print server for example. I know this is not what you are getting at.

My question is really - what sorts of organisations use Nextcloud where it IS a complete solution. There are not many, but there are some as I have identified. What are the others is what I am wondering…

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6

Hello,

Pardon me for saying this, but I think you are not getting the point here.

Not just print server, nextcloud is not a CMS, it is not a game, it is certainly not an OS or Email Server.

NextCloud isn’t meant to be those.

NextCloud is meant to be a selfhosted alternative to all the cloud based service providers.

Tree and Truck aren’t same

You need trees for life and you need trucks to move goods. There can’t be a single solution offering both.

None.

NextCloud isn’t meant to be that.

Thanks.

7

Seems the points have been made. Nextcloud is simply a software suite. Will close before this heats up further. Feel free to consult the documentation or search this forum / youtube / the internet for all the info you could ever want. :smiley_cat:

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