The internet started as a decentralized network based on Open Standards. Back then everybody could set up his own web server, mail server or news server and communicate with the rest of the world. The last years we saw, that for many users the internet was reduced to a few centralized services used to connect with their friends, to communicate and to store and share all kind of data. Nextcloud wants counteract this development for people who want to store, sync and share their data. It provides a cloud platform based on Open Standards and Free Software. To connect the nodes of self-hosted cloud platforms, Nextcloud is the driving force behind the concept of Cloud Federation. The aim is to provide a Open Standard to share data across multiple cloud servers. At the moment this protocol is not only implemented by Nextcloud but also by Pydio and ownCloud. Together with many partners, Nextcloud works on formalizing the protocols to create a real standard. This talk want to discuss how to restore a free, decentralized and open internet in the area of data sync and share.
The internet started as a decentralized network based on Open Standards. Back then everybody could set up his own web server, mail server or news server and communicate with the rest of the world. The last years we saw, that for many users the internet was reduced to a few centralized services used to connect with their friends, to communicate and to store and share all kind of data. This lecture looks at this development from the perspective of a cloud platform which enables people to store, share and sync all kind of data. In this area we saw already the last years a strong push to more decentralized solution, developed as Free Software. This was a important step in the right direction, but at the same time it created a new problem. Everybody who set up his own cloud platform can only collaborate with users on the same server. It become obvious that we need a way to connect all this clouds again. Like with email, for example, it shouldn't make a difference if you communicate with someone on the same server or not. In order to build this bridge, a concept called Cloud Federation was introduced. The aim is to provide a Open Standard to share data across multiple cloud servers. At the moment this protocol connects all Nextcloud, Pydio and ownCloud users. Today Nextcloud is the driving force behind this development and work actively with many partners on formalizing the protocol in order to create a real Open Standard. This talk wants to discuss the development in the world of cloud platforms and how Nextcloud can help to restore a free, decentralized and open internet in this area.
Speakers: Björn Schießle