The release of Nextcloud Hub 3 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 has been published, allowing for the deployment of cloud storage with synchronization and data sharing capabilities, enabling data viewing and editing from any device anywhere on the network (via web interface or WebDAV). The Nextcloud server can be deployed on any hosting that supports the execution of 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.
- Nextcloud Office — built-in tools for collaborative document editing, spreadsheets, and presentations developed in partnership with Collabora. Integration support is provided for OnlyOffice, Collabora Online, MS Office Online Server, and Hancom Office.
- 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.
- Nextcloud Backup — a solution for decentralized backup storage.
Key innovations in Nextcloud Hub 3:
- A new user interface design has been proposed, allowing users to change the style and background for all applications according to their preferences, use dark mode, and assign keyboard shortcuts.
- A new version of the image gallery, Photos 2.0, has been introduced, featuring: a viewing mode for navigating existing photos; support for creating albums to group photos by specific themes; the ability to share albums; a built-in interface for uploading local photos; a photo editing mode with a set of filters and standard editing tools; a tag binding system based on automatic recognition of faces and objects.
- The interface of the Nextcloud Talk messaging system has been significantly improved. Links inserted in messages are now transformed into widgets, allowing immediate viewing of videos, web page previews, or tasks. The ability to send messages or make calls without generating a notification has been added. Users can now define work hours, outside of which 'do not disturb' mode is automatically activated. Support for limiting the lifespan of messages has also been added. Documents, presentations, and spreadsheets can now be sent directly from the chat panel. Enhanced authority management tools have been introduced.
- In the Mail 2.0 client, performance has significantly improved, and the interface has been updated. A preview of messages has been added in the sidebar. Quick action buttons have been introduced. Account setup has been simplified. The ability to respond to calendar invitations has been integrated.
- The address book now offers a hierarchical view of users, taking into account participant interactions and job responsibilities.
- The file manager has added a sidebar with resources related to the selected document.
- Performance optimization has been conducted, reducing page load time and database query times by 25-30%, which has noticeably accelerated application loading and property searches. End-to-end encryption performance has increased by 75%. Administrators now have settings to define which users will have end-to-end encryption applied. When encrypting data on the side server disk space consumption has been reduced by 33%.
- Mobile applications for Android and iOS have added sections for recently updated statuses, changed files, received messages, and created notes. The Android app features a new interface for the image gallery.
- Integration tools with Zimbra, Cisco Webex, NUITEQ Stage, OpenProject, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive have been expanded.
Source: opennet.ru
