The release of the Nextcloud Hub 22 platform has been announced, providing a self-sufficient solution for organizing collaboration among enterprise employees and teams developing various projects. At the same time, the underlying cloud platform Nextcloud 22 has been released, enabling the deployment of a cloud storage solution with synchronization and data sharing support, allowing data viewing and editing from any device anywhere on the network (using a web interface or WebDAV). The Nextcloud server can be deployed on any hosting that supports PHP scripts and provides access to SQLite, MariaDB/MySQL, or PostgreSQL. The source code of Nextcloud is distributed under the AGPL license.
In terms of tasks solved, Nextcloud Hub resembles Google Docs and Microsoft 365, but allows for the deployment of a fully controlled collaboration infrastructure that operates on its own servers and is not tied to external cloud services. Nextcloud Hub integrates multiple open applications as add-ons on the Nextcloud cloud platform, enabling collaborative work with office documents, files, and information for task and event planning. The platform also includes add-ons for accessing email, messaging, organizing video conferences, and chats.
User authentication can be carried out both via a local database and through integration with LDAP/Active Directory, Kerberos, IMAP, and Shibboleth/SAML 2.0, including the use of two-factor authentication, SSO (Single Sign-On), and linking new systems to the account via QR code. Version control allows tracking changes in files, comments, sharing rules, and tags.
The main components of the Nextcloud Hub platform:
- Files — a system for storing, syncing, sharing, and exchanging files. Access can be achieved via both the web and client software for desktop and mobile systems. Advanced features include full-text search, file attachment when sending comments, selective access control, creation of password-protected links for downloads, and integration with external storage (FTP, CIFS/SMB, SharePoint, NFS, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).
- Flow — optimizes business processes through the automation of routine tasks like converting documents to PDF, sending messages to chat when new files are uploaded to specific directories, and automatically assigning tags. Custom handlers can be created to perform actions tied to specific events.
- Built-in tools for collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations based on the ONLYOFFICE suite, which supports Microsoft Office formats. Full integration of ONLYOFFICE with other platform components is ensured, allowing multiple participants to simultaneously edit a single document while discussing changes in a video chat and leaving comments.
- Photos — an image gallery that simplifies searching, sharing, and navigating through a collaborative collection of photos and images. Supports ranking photos by time, location, tags, and view frequency.
- Calendar — a scheduling calendar that allows coordination of meetings, planning chats, and video conferences. Integration is provided with group work tools based on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Outlook, and Thunderbird. Event downloading from external sources supporting the WebCal protocol is also supported.
- Mail — a shared address book and web interface for handling emails. Multiple accounts can be linked to a single inbox. Supports email encryption and attachment of digital signatures based on OpenPGP. Address book synchronization is possible via CalDAV.
- Talk — a messaging system and web conferencing platform (chat, audio, and video). Supports groups, screen sharing, and integration with traditional telephony through SIP gateways.
Key innovations in Nextcloud Hub 22:
- In the address book, there is a new option to create custom groups that can be managed without administrative involvement. User groups, called 'Circles', allow contacts to be consolidated for easier file sharing, task assignments, or chat creation.
- A new application, Collectives, has been added, providing an interface for building a knowledge base and linking documents to groups. The left side of the interface displays various document collections available to the selected user groups. Within the pages, users can create additional pages and link documents through hyperlinks, forming a structured knowledge base. Collaborative data editing is supported with authors' contributions highlighted in different colors, full-text search, and the ability to save pages as markdown files for access from external systems.
- Three new workflows have been proposed to streamline teamwork:
- Integration of chat and task manager, allowing chat messages to be turned into tasks or tasks to be posted in chat.
- A PDF document can be marked as requiring signature verification, and a user can be notified to add their signature. Supported signature tools include DocuSign, EIDEasy, and LibreSign.
- Document approval. A user can be assigned to review and decide whether to approve or reject the document.
- Integration of chat and task manager, allowing chat messages to be turned into tasks or tasks to be posted in chat.
- The calendar now supports a trash bin feature, allowing the recovery of deleted events.
- Expanded capabilities for group work. Tools for reserving organizational resources have been added, such as booking a meeting room and a car.
- The mail client has improved threaded discussion display, implemented the tagging of emails with color labels, and added the ability to create Sieve scripts for filtering mail on the IMAP server.
- The project management tool has enhanced search functionality, integrated with the Talk messaging system, and added the ability to attach documents to tasks from Nextcloud Files.
Source: opennet.ru
