The “Deutschland-Cloud” was never a truly satisfying alternative for German companies; it played security and productivity off each other. Low demand and the discontinuation of the service are only the logical consequences of this conflict. But the end of the Deutschland-Cloud does not mean the end of secure file sharing. Whoever is looking for a long-term sustainable solution will find both security AND productivity in a “Federated Cloud” architecture– maximum security and full technological flexibility.
The fact is, however, the “Deutschland-Cloud, “which is administered by Deutsche Telekom, was never a truly satisfactory alternative for German companies. They were simply faced with a choice between “security or productivity.” Those who decided to use the isolated cloud environment, to which Microsoft employees – and thus the US security authorities themselves– had no access and were forced to abandon central functions such as Microsoft Azure, Office 365 or Dynamics 365. Security and productivity were being played against each other. The poor demand and the termination of the service are the natural consequences of this conflict.
Even apart from the lack of top functions, users of the Deutschland-Cloud always felt that they were getting the short end of the stick compared to “normal” MS users. New services were slowly implemented , updates lagged, and the differences to the “Original” became greater and greater. All of these factors considered make the Trustee Cloud look more like a security fig leaf of a global corporation, with which Microsoft has let German companies know that they take data protection seriously, without being too proactive.
The Real Solution: Cloud Federation
Now that Microsoft’s decision has been made against security for convenience, it is time to offer an alternative to the majority of users who need both. The key word? Cloud Federation. Cloud Federation makes it possible to merge a wide variety of data sources into one cloud, while maintaining control over one’s own data at all times.
All systems that comply with the OpenCloudMesh standard can be connected to ownCloud via a common file access layer; within an organization, as well as across globally networked organizations. Private clouds from around the world can, therefore, combine to form a large, high-performance platform that simultaneously complies with the legal security and data protection regulations of each individual country, regardless of whether the data is located on internal servers, on object storages, in applications such as SharePoint or Jive, other ownClouds, or even on external cloud systems such as Dropbox and Google.
Through the flexible integration of various authentication systems, ownCloud can also be integrated into existing IT infrastructures. On-premises systems and public clouds can be used equally. In addition, users always have the option of migrating their data freely to other systems and servers. Moreover, thanks to Open Source, they always have the certainty that the service will remain intact and can be adapted and operated on their own, in contrast to the Deutschland-Cloud, which “end of life” will soon confront users with the problem of being forced to switch to another manufacturer.
All users who want security AND productivity have a choice. Anyone who wants to operate comparable services to Microsoft OneDrive, Office 365, etc. securely and protected from access by foreign authorities will find a tailor-made solution in ownCloud that meets the security standards of the respective country and enables productive file sync and share. The Gartner market research institute has also recognized these advantages and included ownCloud in its “Magic Quadrant for Content Collaboration Platforms 2018.”
Many companies want more than the minimum in terms of security. Awareness of the value of their own data, which deserves the best protection, is growing and ownCloud is the only solution that delivers this combination of security and productivity; this certainty is even more true since the end of the “ Deutschland-Cloud .”:
About ownCloud
ownCloud is the largest Open Source Filesharing solution in the world with 200.000 installations and more than 25 million users. ownCloud combines consumer-grade usability with enterprise-grade security (GDPR compliant). It enables users to access data no matter where it is stored or which device is used. The data can be stored in the cloud or reside on-premises. By giving organizations the visibility and control required to manage sensitive data while offering users the modern collaboration experience they demand, productivity and security are increased at the same time. For more information, visit: https://owncloud.com.
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