Self-hosted ownCloud Server 8

The ownCloud community, developing popular open source file sync and share software, released ownCloud Server 8.0, speeding up sharing and collaboration in the cloud while maintaining control for data owners.

ownCloud Server 8.0 elevates federated cloud sharing to the next level-allowing users to share files with other ownCloud servers – and introduces additional notifications and user interface improvements to the sharing process. It also introduces support for favorites and improved search functionality, enabling users to access important files without excessive navigation.

“Federated cloud sharing, as offered in ownCloud Server 8.0, is revolutionizing how we think about secure collaboration. The introduction of favorites and the improvements to search are core ownCloud functionality that will have a significant impact on the user experience. Administrators will find better performance and greater control with this latest release,” said Frank Karlitschek, founder and maintainer, ownCloud project.

ownCloud Server 8.0 gives enthusiasts and technical users a free, secure and innovative way to sync and share data from the storage of their choice. With more than two million users worldwide, ownCloud installs on a web server, enabling anyone to host their own file sync and share software while using their own storage (and/or cloud storage if they choose), instead of relying on third parties with files stored outside of their control.

“I love ownCloud for syncing files with family members, colleagues and friends. I also use the calendar and contact syncing every day. I think the mobile and desktop clients are great, but I mostly use ownCloud from my browser so I am very excited about the web interface improvements like favorites and improved search coming in ownCloud Server 8.0,” commented Matt McGraw, ownCloud user.

ownCloud Server 8.0 features include:

• Federated cloud sharing
  With ownCloud Server 8.0, the process for setting up server-to-server shared folders is now as easy as sharing a file with another ownCloud user. This allows federated instances of ownCloud to work together across servers, and if desired, across organizations to collaborate and get work done while control is maintained at the local ownCloud deployment.
  Federated cloud Sharing has been recently celebrated in the announcement of OpenCloudMesh, a joint international initiative under the umbrella of the GÉANT Association, which is built on ownCloud’s open federated cloud sharing application programming interface (API). OpenCloudMesh enables collaboration beyond the borders of individual clouds to create a globally interconnected mesh of research clouds – without sacrificing any advantages in privacy, control and security an on-premises cloud provides.

• Favorites and metadata support
  With ten thousand or more files found on a typical file sync and share account, users can now assign a favorite icon to files and folders and quickly locate, access and edit important content. Server favorites set a foundation for additional file and folder metadata in future releases of ownCloud yet remain on-premise for greater privacy and data security.

• Optimized search interface
  An updated search UI provides a simpler and easier user experience including enhanced result set reporting which speeds access to searched files. Additional search parameters, as well as general usability improvements, make it easier for users to find the files they need fast.

Additional enhancements in this release include web interface enhancements on both the user and admin interface. ownCloud has provided faster access to data and applications with simplified app installation and configuration to LDAP/AD improvements and sophisticated, yet simple, user management tools. Improvements to Documents and the provisioning API further ensure that users can collaborate across systems and files.

The provisioning API, that had been limited to the Enterprise Edition, is available to the community as an open source app, providing the same system administration benefits to the overall ownCloud community.

Developers have the ability to specify dependencies in info.xml, ensuring that the ownCloud app container can automatically resolve stated dependencies. For those just starting to develop with ownCloud, a app tutorial and demo app will provide a proper foundation to build against the extensible ownCloud Server 8.0 platform.

ownCloud Server 8.0 is available for download.