Nextcloud Conference 2024 review: Open Source Meets Open Minds

The Nextcloud Conference 2024 was held in Berlin from September 14-15, 2024. was an inspiring and impactful event that brought together a diverse community of developers, contributors, and users, all focused on the future of open-source. The unveiling of Nextcloud Hub 9 was particularly exciting.

The conference kicked off with a keynote presentation from the Nextcloud team announcing the brand new Nextcloud Hub 9. Nextcloud Hub 9 includes a number of new features and improvements, including (so many, forgive me if I miss any):

• Design Overhaul: A fresh new look with dynamic backgrounds and a more compact, tidy design.
• Nextcloud Flow: Automate and streamline processes, with a focus on public sector digitalization (one of my favourite).
• Federated Calls: Decentralized, secure calls across federated servers.
• Nextcloud Whiteboard: A creative and collaborative space for brainstorming and planning.
• Performance Boost: Faster, lightweight apps with improvements to back-end performance, including database sharding and read-after-write behavior.
• Nextcloud Assistant: AI-powered assistant for translations, analytics, and chat (also one of my favourite).
• Nextcloud Files: Enhanced file management with file requests, filters, and a tree view for browsing folders.
• Nextcloud Office: New PDF templates, form-filling APIs, and 3D transitions for presentations.
• Nextcloud Tables: New column types for users and groups, and schema export options.
• Nextcloud Talk: Improved chat features, participant management, offline browsing, and compatibility with Apple Vision Pro.
• Nextcloud Groupware: Advanced search filters, follow-up reminders, phishing detection, and end-to-end encryption for emails.
• Nextcloud Calendar: Availability displays, upcoming event previews in conversations, and better event windows.
• Nextcloud Contacts: Group management features like deleting or renaming, and setting out-of-office replacements.
• Enhanced Security: Greater security throughout Nextcloud Hub 9 with encrypted communications and advanced protection tools.
• Nextcloud Clients: Two-way sync for Android, new release channels for desktop, and improved native UI.
• Ecosystem Growth: Integration with LLama 3, XWiki, Dovecot, Stalwart Mail Server, and more.

Keynotes

First day

Keynote by Björn Lundell
Title: Recipes for Getting Stuck in Proprietary Clouds: How Public Sector Organisations Discriminated Against OSS Solutions

In his keynote, Professor Björn Lundell explored the socio-technical challenges faced by public sector organizations in the procurement and use of software systems. He discussed how reliance on proprietary cloud solutions often led to lock-in, limiting the adoption of open-source software (OSS) and open standards. Lundell’s research highlighted issues of interoperability and the long-term sustainability of digital assets, emphasizing the importance of openness in mitigating these challenges. Following the keynote, there was a Q&A session where attendees engaged with the presented topics.

Second day

Keynote by Dr. Constanze Kurz
Title: Mass Surveillance: The Haystack Has Only Grown Bigger

In her keynote, Dr. Constanze Kurz delved into the escalating issue of mass surveillance, emphasizing how the scale of data collection has dramatically expanded in recent years. She discussed her technical analyses for the German Constitutional Court on controversial issues such as data retention, predictive policing, and anti-terrorism databases. Dr. Kurz offered unique insights into the ongoing threats to privacy in the post Snowden era.

More than keynotes

Following the keynote of the second day, there was a panel Session titled "How to Contribute to Nextcloud", moderated by Nimisha Vijay. The session focused on ways individuals can contribute to open-source projects, even without coding skills. Panelists shared insights on roles like documentation, design, podcasting, emphasizing that there are numerous valuable contributions beyond programming. Attendees and streaming viewers gained practical advice on how to get involved in the open-source ecosystem, regardless of technical background.

Of course, you might be wondering if the conference only had keynote speeches and panels? The answer is no. There were many other informative and interesting talks and workshops. In addition to the keynotes, the conference featured a number of other lightning talks and presentations on a variety of topics related to Nextcloud, both technical and community based.

Unfortunately, I missed these exciting workshops at the Nextcloud Conference 2024, but I would definitely love to attend them in the future:

• Build Your First Nextcloud App – A hands-on guide to app development by the Nextcloud team, ideal for developers at any level.
• Hands-on Android App Development – Tobias Kaminsky's collaborative session, focused on brainstorming new features and fixing bugs in Nextcloud's Android apps.
• Local Docker-Based Development Setup – Christian Wolf’s workshop on setting up a local Docker environment for smoother development and testing.

These sessions seem incredibly valuable, and I’m looking forward to the chance to participate next time!

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Nextcloud Conference 2024 was a testament to the power of open collaboration, innovation, and the shared goal of creating a more secure, decentralized digital future. With its vibrant community and strong focus on tackling real-world challenges, Nextcloud continues to be a leading force in the open-source ecosystem, and this conference was a perfect reflection of that.

I am looking forward to attending the Nextcloud Conference 2025 and seeing what new developments and innovations are in store for the Nextcloud community.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank Nextcloud for sponsoring my trip to Berlin and allowing me to attend the conference.