Nextcloud is a spin-off of ownCloud. The software is supposed to have more features than ownCloud - but is it really better? Should one make the switch and does it bring anything?
How did the new software for the own cloud come about?
Frank Karlitschek, founder and CEO of ownCloud, has left the ownCloud project with other developers. In the process, the company Nextcloud was founded. The reason was disagreements. There was dissatisfaction about development work that did not take place and certain technical orientations. Frank Karlitschek, for example, found the contribution of the community of freelance developers too large and was unhappy that amounts from the community to flow into ownCloud took up to a year. On June 2, 2016, this was announced after Karlitschek had left ownCloud 5 weeks earlier. For many, this was very sudden and they questioned whether they should stay with ownCloud or better switch to Nextcloud. The first project, Nextcloud 9 already existed in mid-June, with the first innovations and small improvements of ownCloud. At the beginning of July, the modalities for the Enterprise Support announced. There was also the new Android client 1.1.0. . In mid-July there was the announcement that you can self-host LibreOffice Online from Collabora. The new Nextcloud 10 project was launched on 7/21/2016. This version has better federation technology and 2-factor authentication. Finally, on December 12, Nextcloud 11 came with many new features and improvements.
Why do you need Nextcloud?
Nextcloud is a software that can be used to store Data on the own server, also called file hosting, is required. It is automatically synchronized with a local directory when using a corresponding client. Thus, one has the possibility to access the data from multiple devices, even on the go with the help of smartphone apps. You can easily share your data in the advertising interface. When sharing, one can enter expiry date and password. Apart from saving data, there are other features, for example, the user is provided with a calendar, an address book, a media player, a text editor, a PDF viewer and a gallery function along with many other features.
Advantages of Nextcloud
The software offers features that are only included in the paid Enterprise version of ownCloud. If you have booked Enterprise Support, you get full support for the contact, calendar and mail applications. You also get full video communication functionality, as Nextcloud works closely with Spreed, the paid videoconferencing software.
The community comes first
The community should be in the foreground. The user should have the necessary control over his data. The features and release planning should be public, so everyone can contribute to the software and its development. The business model is called "sustainability and long term" and is a good approach also for the community.
Personalization for the user
In the admin area you can insert background images for the login page and change the color of the banners for example. With the ownCloud community version, this is only possible by manually editing various configuration files. The license is more similar to the open source version.
The software as well as the client version needed for synchronization are free of charge. In contrast to ownCloud you have a larger choice of clients. There are clients for Android, iOS, Mac and PC. OwnCloud distinguishes between commercial and private users.
With Nextcloud all users should have the same features. The layout is very user friendly. It is clear, modern and you can easily make your own settings and access the data. You can create and manage multiple users, so you can, for example, assign a separate storage for each family member.
No matter where you are, you can access data and share content with all Internet users. In contrast to ownCloud, the founder promises reliability and stability.
In the past, there have been a number of version errors in ownCloud. Soon the software behind Nextcloud and an update server will be released. This has the big advantage that the software of the update servers will be available to the community and so problems can be solved faster. The updater will also be adapted, so that it can also be used on hardware with low performance.
Conclusion
Cloud services are very useful because they keep files in sync on multiple computers and provide addresses, photos and appointments on desktops and smartphones. Migration from ownCloud to Nextcloud is quick and easy. Nextcloud developers stand out from ownCloud and offer many practical features. This is a clear argument for a change.
In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to switch to Nextcloud and whether a switch makes sense for them.
