Sorbonne University implements on-premise solution with Nextcloud
Sorbonne University migrated from Microsoft and Google to Nextcloud, gaining full data control with 40 TB of on-premises storage and plans to expand across all students.
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The Veneto Region, one of Italy’s largest regional public administrations, set out to modernize its document repositories while ensuring uninterrupted public access to information. Faced with obsolete, decommissioned file-sharing platforms, the administration needed a secure, compliant, and future-proof solution that could integrate seamlessly with existing institutional portals.
By implementing Nextcloud on its own infrastructure, in close collaboration with Nextcloud partner ITServicenet, the Veneto Region successfully migrated hundreds of gigabytes of data without disruption to citizens. It began as a repository replacement project, and it gradually evolved into a broader collaboration platform, now supporting secure file sharing and cooperation with external entities.
Today, around 600 employees use Nextcloud as a central hub for document management and collaboration. The platform has laid the foundation for future innovation in public digital services, fully aligned with Italian and European regulations.
The Veneto Region needed to migrate deeply integrated legacy repositories to a modern platform while maintaining uninterrupted public access, regulatory compliance, and full on-premises data control.
Nextcloud was implemented as a centralized access point for multiple repositories, enabling secure file sharing and collaboration with external entities while maintaining full data control and regulatory compliance.
Located in northeastern Italy, the Veneto Region manages public services for nearly five million citizens through 28 principal offices and 44 departmental structures. Its mission is to support citizens, institutions, and businesses by promoting development, innovation, and transparent public administration.
As part of its digital agenda, the Region provides reliable access to public documentation while safeguarding sensitive information. This responsibility comes with strict requirements around data protection, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
Below are the requests the Region had:
The project originated from a pressing operational need. Several legacy repositories, including box.com and an internally used solution derived from Pydio, were being decommissioned. These platforms were deeply embedded in institutional portals, with thousands of existing links pointing citizens and external stakeholders to public domains.
Simply replacing the repositories risked broken links, service interruptions, and a negative impact on public access to information. The administration required a solution that would allow for a transparent migration, ensuring documents remained accessible throughout the transition and that future publishing could be managed centrally.
At the same time, the Veneto Region wanted to comply with national guidelines favoring open source software and to retain full control over data through an on-premises deployment.
These requirements led the Veneto Region to look for a platform that could deliver:
The Veneto Region, in collaboration with ITServicenet, an IT company based in Veneto, an official Nextcloud partner and member of the Italian Open Source Network (RIOS), provided technical support for the implementation of Nextcloud. The platform was selected by the region to streamline obsolete repositories and improve collaboration between employees and citizens, while progressively adopting additional functionalities that proved valuable during the implementation process.
Nextcloud was chosen for its ability to integrate with existing systems while meeting the stringent requirements of public administration. Furthermore, its open-source nature aligns with the Three-Year Plan for IT in Public Administration, which encourages public bodies to prioritize open technologies. Beyond licensing considerations, open technologies play a strategic role in public administration by promoting transparency, interoperability, and long-term sustainability, enabling institutions to fully understand, verify, and adapt the systems they rely on.
As the project progressed, additional needs came to light, particularly around collaboration with external entities. Nextcloud Files enabled secure sharing of documents and folders with non-regional users, while still keeping all data under the administration’s control. To support different use cases, two separate Nextcloud instances were deployed: one dedicated to hosting migrated public documents, and another focused on active collaboration.
The transition to Nextcloud delivered instant and tangible benefits. The document migration was completed without any disruption to public services, and the Region gained a modern, centralized system for managing and publishing files.
Approximately 600 users have since been onboarded to the collaboration platform, who can now use secure file sharing and cooperate efficiently with external partners. At the same time, the rationalizing of repositories reduced complexity and improved overall data governance.
In 2025, the Veneto Region completed a major infrastructure upgrade by migrating its Nextcloud environment to a container-based platform orchestrated with Kubernetes. At the same time, all instances were updated, and browser-based document editing was introduced for selected users through ONLYOFFICE.
The platform has also been extended to support additional public bodies, starting with a dedicated instance for Veneto Agricoltura.
Looking ahead, the Region plans to further expand its use of Nextcloud by introducing new modules such as Nextcloud Forms and Nextcloud Tables, developing custom applications for metadata management and advanced search, onboarding new users, and adding secure communication features with Nextcloud Talk.
With this roadmap, the Veneto Region continues to strengthen its digital sovereignty while delivering efficient, transparent, and citizen-centric public services, entirely under its control.
The Veneto Region shows that large-scale modernization does not have to come at the cost of service continuity or data control. By combining digital sovereignty with modern online collaboration, the Region replaced deeply embedded legacy systems without disrupting public access, while retaining full ownership of data and meeting strict regulatory requirements. An on-premises, open source platform enabled long-term compliance, interoperability, and independence from vendor lock-in, while remaining scalable and adaptable to future needs. The result is a modular, future-proof foundation for public digital services that supports efficiency, transparency, and citizen trust.
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Client
The Veneto Region
Partner
ITServicenet
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