Microsoft alternative: Nextcloud and Ionos develop open-source ‘Euro-Office’

Nextcloud, Ionos and other partners are developing an open-source office suite under the project name „Euro-Office“ as an alternative to the market-dominant Microsoft Office. The software is scheduled to be released in a first stable version in the summer. Ionos and Nextcloud announced this jointly in Berlin on Friday. „The product is intended for the entire market, from small businesses to the public sector,’“said Ionos CEO Achim Weiß.

The two partners are not starting from scratch, but have forked the components of OnlyOffice available as open-source code and want to build on them. In the summer, the software is then intended to replace the previous office component Collabora in Nextcloud and the Ionos Nextcloud Workspace. A ‘technical preview’ is already available on GitHub.

OnlyOffice code checked for backdoors

Nextcloud and Ionos justify the decision for the Only-Office fork with its more modern architecture and code base compared to LibreOffice and its browser variant Collabora. „Libre Office is 35 years old and no longer the most innovative and fluid,“ said Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek. „You can also notice that in the browser.“ However, they want to continue working with Collabora and possibly incorporate Collabora components into Euro-Office.

OnlyOffice has roots in Russia. However, this does not pose a security risk for Euro-Office, Ionos and Nextcloud emphasized. The partners have checked the open-source code. According to their own statements, they have rebuilt components that were not available as open source. „We can vouch for our version,“ said Karlitschek. Weiß stressed: „Anyone can check it themselves.“

Competition to openDesk

Ionos and Nextcloud want to differentiate themselves from the open-source package openDesk from the federal-owned ZenDiS through, among other things, stronger integration of the individual applications and through AI functions. Nextcloud’s leading development is intended to ensure deeper integration. „Nextcloud is in charge,“ said Weiß. Both partners intend to hire ‘a double-digit number of developers each’ for the further development of Euro Office, according to their own statements.

However, ZenDiS can also easily use Euro-Office as an office component of openDesk, said Karlitschek. OpenDesk currently includes Nextcloud as a file exchange platform and Collabora Online as an office component. Likewise, other providers could also operate the open-source Euro-Office.

In addition to Ionos and Nextcloud, other partners such as XWiki, Soverin, OpenProject and the EuroStack initiative support the Euro-Office project. According to a press release, they encourage ‘public bodies, community contributors, and civil society organizations committed to open standards, digital rights, and sovereign digital infrastructure’ to jointly develop the software further.

(cwo)