
ownCloud has made a name for itself by freely distributing open source cloud software that turns any server into a personal cloud. This allows an end user to have access to their files and media from anywhere in the world. This method is attractive to those who own or lease their hardware and do not wish to use public cloud storage websites like OneDrive or DropBox. While the ownCloud community edition is perfect for setting up your own cloud storage system in just a few clicks, the creators noticed that there was a demand for an enterprise edition that is suitable for business. To solve this problem, ownCloud has now released their Enterprise Edition which makes private cloud syncs a breeze.
Just like the community edition, the new enterprise edition can be setup without much of a learning curve. If active directory is used in your environment, you can integrate ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition with LDAP giving your users a single sign on experience. ownCloud can also be integrated with organizations that use SAML authentication as well. There is also a feature available that will allow you to integrate Jive, which gives your private cloud storage service a social network that can be used for authentication or collaboration.
The Enterprise version of ownCloud features several upgrades compared to other versions of this app. The user interface is cleaner and many analysts are reporting a performance boost versus the older versions of this app. The enterprise version also includes 2 newly released APIs that allow you to integrate this software with other offerings into your environment. ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition is still in its infancy, however, early reviews of this self-proclaimed “Do it yourself” cloud software suite is promising. The community edition of ownCloud has over 1 million users. It will be interesting to see if ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition becomes widely adopted in enterprises around the world.