{"id":358608,"date":"2026-01-20T22:49:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T21:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/?post_type=case_studies&p=358608"},"modified":"2026-01-21T14:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:44:50","slug":"archdiocese-of-cologne","status":"publish","type":"case_studies","link":"https:\/\/nextcloud.com\/nl\/customers\/archdiocese-of-cologne\/","title":{"rendered":"Archdiocese of Cologne: More than 6,300 users collaborate on Nextcloud Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Executive summary<\/h2>\n

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The Archdiocese of Cologne modernized its collaboration environment by deploying ‘Communis’, <\/i>a private cloud based on Nextcloud Hub, for more the 6,300 users. The goal was to overcome stringent GDPR and Schrems II requirements, improve communication and ensure secure collaboration for employees and volunteers. Nextcloud offered the ideal foundation: an open-source, on-premise platforms that provides full data sovereignty and compliance with EU privacy laws.<\/p>\n

With support from ECKD Service GmbH and the Nextcloud engineering team, the deployment created a highly available environment featuring dedicated servers for Nextcloud Talk, Nextcloud Groupware, and integrated office suite.<\/p>\n

Today, Nextcloud powers institution-wide communication through chat, video calls, mails and calendars, while enabling secure internal and external file sharing.<\/p>\n

The Archdiocese’s usage of Nextcloud Hub has increased over the years from 4,000 to 6,300 active users in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The main challenge<\/h3>\n

Building a private cloud that aligns with the vision of the archdiocese and fully complies with Schrems II and GDPR regulations.<\/p>\n

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Nextcloud solution<\/h3>\n

Nextcloud deployed on-premises with Files, Talk, Mail, Calendar, and office tools to create a GDPR-compliant collaboration platform.<\/p>\n

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\n Dirk R\u00f6der <\/h4>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n Head of Information Technology, Archdiocese of Cologne <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n Nextcloud Hub offers us countless possibilities. Using Files, Talk and Groupware, along with our desktop software, we have created an extremely functional and easy-to-use platform for our employees. <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n [vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1765214162383{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;padding-top: 0.5rem !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” align=”align_left” border_width=”2″ el_width=”20″ css=”” accent_color=”#0082c9″ el_class=”nc_separator_line”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1768943765022{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;}”]With Nextcloud Hub, the largest Catholic archdiocese in Germany, the Archdiocese of Cologne, provides its employees a brand new way to securely communicate, collaborate and store information.<\/p>\n

In this case study, we share the full story of how Nextcloud was implemented for the Archdiocese and the uncanny results it provides. From creating and sharing files in Nextcloud Files, to chatting and conferencing on Nextcloud Talk, this use case demonstrates the full potential of a potent and scalable collaboration platform in a very unique setting.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1765214170587{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;padding-top: 0.5rem !important;}”]<\/p>\n

About the Archdiocese of Cologne<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” align=”align_left” border_width=”2″ el_width=”20″ css=”” accent_color=”#0082c9″ el_class=”nc_separator_line”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1768944733198{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;}”]The Archdiocese of Cologne, or Erzbistum K\u00f6ln in German, is the largest Catholic archdiocese in all of Germany. Home to 1.8 million Catholics, it\u2019s been around for over 1,700 years and continues to bring people together in the name of the Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the archdiocese implemented ‘Communis,’ a private cloud solution with Nextcloud Talk, Groupware, and Files with the goal of reaching its users spread over 6,100 square kilometers.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1765214179780{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;padding-top: 0.5rem !important;}”]<\/p>\n

The Challenge<\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” align=”align_left” border_width=”2″ el_width=”20″ css=”” accent_color=”#0082c9″ el_class=”nc_separator_line”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1765213392566{margin-bottom: 2rem !important;}” el_class=”process-list”]Since 2017, the archdiocese has been in need of a content collaboration platform, however the changing regulatory conditions created a real challenge for the IT team.<\/p>\n

When the EU-US Privacy Shield was invalidated in 2020 by the European Court of Justice, known as the Schrems II judgment, the team had no choice but to re-design and find a platform that was GDPR compliant under the EU. They came to the conclusion that the easiest solution towards compliance was to deploy a private cloud solution with dedicated support throughout installation, personalization and maintenance.<\/p>\n

Requirements<\/h4>\n