Nextcloud and Cloudwise announce partnership for a Dutch cloud for education

During the customer event Nextcloud Enterprise Day 2026 in Utrecht, Nextcloud and Cloudwise announced a partnership. The two companies will jointly explore how European open-source technology can contribute to greater digital freedom of choice and control for Dutch education.

Cloudwise offers smart solutions for technical and educational challenges, enabling more than 4,500 elementary and middle schools to work seamlessly in the cloud. Together with Nextcloud, the company aims to build a future-proof, European-based cloud alternative available to the education sector, based on Nextcloud technology and Cloudwise’s educational expertise and platforms. Cloudwise and Nextcloud will begin by conducting a concrete assessment of support and willingness within the education market. This addresses the frequently heard demand from the Dutch education sector and stakeholders such as ICT cooperative for school boards SIVON and Kennisnet for alternatives that combine local data storage with high-quality cloud functionality.

The call for such alternatives has also reached the Dutch House of Representatives, as evidenced by the letter from the State Secretary for Education dated February 3, 2026: “There are currently no one-to-one alternatives to the total solutions offered by large tech companies.” However, Cloudwise and Nextcloud are convinced that it is indeed possible to build a secure and innovative ecosystem using the available technology.

A partnership that advances education

At the Nextcloud Enterprise Day, the partnership was explained by Rogier Borggreve, CEO of Cloudwise: «Cloudwise has held an independent position in the Dutch education and IT landscape for 26 years. We have always supported multiple technologies and platforms and have also had our own cloud in the past. With all the geopolitical developments, we see the call for a Dutch-based cloud increasing again. This collaboration therefore fits into the strategy we have been pursuing for years. In the coming period, we will investigate whether there is sufficient demand in the education sector to robustly implement this solution. If that is the case, this solution will allow us to offer schools the control and freedom of choice that is essential for the future of our digital education.»

Director of Portfolio and Technology Jeroen Krikke adds: “By joining forces, we can not only provide a safe haven for educational data but also a user-friendly and functionally mature alternative. We are therefore eager to connect with school boards that are serious about implementing this.”

Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud, explains that Nextcloud’s background in education was crucial to the establishment of the partnership: “Nextcloud has been active in education for 10 years, where secure storage of sensitive research data is crucial. Nextcloud has since grown into a comprehensive workplace solution that prioritizes privacy and control, and forms the foundation for learning and collaboration among millions of students and teachers in primary, secondary, and higher education around the world. In the Netherlands, there is a growing awareness that students and schools do not want to automatically hand over their data to American tech companies. Together with Cloudwise, we aim to provide an appropriate response to this need for independent, secure, and privacy-friendly digital workplaces.”

Roundtable: The Sovereign Cloud

Cloudwise organizes a roundtable on June 3 to discuss the key requirements for a successful sovereign cloud strategy. More information and registration: https://cloudwise.nl/events/round-tables-de-soevereine-cloud

About Cloudwise
High-quality, modern education prepares students for the world of tomorrow. Cloudwise helps make that happen. We offer schools a stable and secure digital environment tailored to their needs, including all the associated services. We provide the technology you need and show you how to make the most of it—just as you would expect from a dedicated IT partner. More information: https://cloudwise.nl.

About Nextcloud
Nextcloud is the world’s most popular privacy-focused collaboration platform. It is used by tens of thousands of private and public organizations and tens of millions of private individuals to stay in control of their sensitive data and ensure privacy compliance.

With Nextcloud, users can edit and share documents, chat and hold video conferences, and manage emails, contacts and calendars via easy web and mobile apps. The open source software has a modular design and can be extended with hundreds of apps. It runs on premises in a private cloud or with a trusted provider.

Founded in 2016, Nextcloud is fully employee-owned and has grown organically ever since. Learn more at www.nextcloud.com.

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