Nextcloud joins OpenForum Europe for an open and competitive digital ecosystem

February 1st, Berlin, Brussels – Nextcloud GmbH, the company behind the worlds’ most deployed on-premises content collaboration platform, becomes a supporter of OpenForum Europe (OFE) to promote open, competitive markets through open standards and open-source code. OFE advocates for the European tech businesses and consumers, pushing back to the extensive lobbying of Big Tech and their efforts to control and own the data and business processes of Europe.

OpenForum Europe (OFE) is a not-for-profit, Brussels-based independent think tank that explains the merits of openness in computing to policymakers and communities across Europe. Originally launched in 2002, OFE covers topics such as Open Source Software and Hardware, open standards, digital government, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and Internet policy. Its key objective is to contribute to achieving an open and competitive Digital ecosystem in Europe.

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that Nextcloud is joining OpenForum Europe as a supporter. Nextcloud is right in the middle of the rapidly developing European Open Source industry, is a trusted partner of public and private organisations across Europe and is active in the policy debates in several countries. As open technologies are moving higher and higher up on the policy agenda in Europe, we look forward to working with Frank and the Nextcloud team to build even more bridges between open technology experts and policymakers.

— Astor Nummelin Carlberg, Executive Director, OpenForum Europe

Nextcloud was founded in 2016 by a group of open source developers and entrepreneurs, aiming to empower users to take back control over their data and communication. By January 2018 the company had become the market leader in on-premises content collaboration platforms and continues to push forward the product in accordance with its mission and principles. Focusing on privacy, security, a 100% open source product and decentralization, Nextcloud is servicing tens of millions of users globally at governments, businesses, non-profits and private installations. Nextcloud founder Frank Karlitschek has been a fellow of OpenForum Europe for many years and today, Nextcloud itself becomes an official member to solidify this relationship.

Political decisions matter, and we are worried about attempts at regulatory capture of EU Institutions by Big Tech which could hurt European tech businesses and customers alike. Nextcloud provides the alternative to Big Tech businesses and governments are looking for, in a transparent, compliant and privacy-respecting way. Together with OFE we want to bring this fact to the awareness of politicians, refuting the argument from Big Tech that being locked in to their services is the only real choice for Europe.

— Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud GmbH

OFE is organizing an annual EU Open Source Policy Summit which is meant to reframe the conversation around Open Source and digital policy at the highest political level. Global technology and policy leaders come together to discuss how collaboration and competition are being rethought as we are innovating to solve the complex global challenges we are facing collectively. Frank Karlitschek, together with other EU policymakers will be part of a panel discussion that covers the topic “Building Public Sector Capacity: Open Source and Digital Sovereignty”.

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud Hub is the industry-leading, fully open-source, on-premises team productivity platform and Germany’s number one collaboration solution. It combines the easy user interface of consumer-grade cloud solutions with the security and compliance measures enterprises need. Nextcloud Hub brings together universal access to data through mobile, desktop and web interfaces with next-generation, on-premise secure communication and collaboration features like real-time document editing, chat and video calls, putting them under the direct control of IT and integrated with existing infrastructure.

Nextcloud’s easy and quick deployment, open, modular architecture and emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing file storage assets within and across the borders of their organization. For more information, visit nextcloud.com or follow Nextclouders on Twitter.

Links

• About Open Forum Europe, OFE
• About Nextcloud
• Nextcloud mission and principles
• Graphics

Press contact

Jos Poortvliet
Marketing Director
Phone: +49 (0) 171 121 7528
pr@nextcloud.com