In November, IT cooperative SURF appealed to its member education and research institutions to sign up for a pilot. Would they be up for helping to make higher education institutions more independent of American software? At the moment, US tech companies have the power to shut down education in the Netherlands at the touch of a button.
SURF reports that the first thousand volunteers have started using the alternative Nextcloud. The pilot has room for two thousand users. They share files with colleagues, video call, chat and may soon be able to use a built-in AI assistant. In doing so, they’re undermining Microsoft’s monopoly in higher education on a daily basis.
Nextcloud, a German platform, uses open standards. This means that it can be used in combination with competitors’ programs. This makes users less reliant on a single provider. Nextcloud is also open source: everyone can view the source code and suggest enhancements.
Twelve universities
Thirty SURF members have signed up for the pilot in recent months. The volunteers include four universities of applied sciences, twelve research universities, six research institutions and two university medical centres. SURF doesn’t wish to disclose the names of the institutions taking part.
Today, the IT cooperative announced that it is extending the pilot. “We’re noticing that our members are keen to gain practical experience with Nextcloud”, says spokesperson Tom Hoven.
The pilot will run until the end of this year. After that, it should be clear whether Nextcloud deserves to be part of the standard software suite for education and research institutions.