An interoperable alternative
According to Nauerz, one of the biggest advantages of Euro-Office is its interoperability with the platforms against which the solution competes. “Euro-Office covers all functions for working with documents, spreadsheets and presentations, but at the same time offers a high level of interoperability. This means that users can easily open files created in Microsoft Office.”
According to Nauerz, the platform includes key functions such as comprehensive file management with version control, data loss protection, cross-device synchronization and end-to-end encryption. “In addition, the solution offers communication and time management tools, including Ionos email inbox integration and a team calendar,” he adds. All of this is delivered as a fully managed solution.
In addition, Euro-Office has confidential collaboration functions, including video conferences, which are seamlessly integrated into the Nextcloud environment. The system also makes it possible to edit documents simultaneously in real time, including comment functions and change tracking. The platform is independent of the operating system and runs in web browsers as well as on desktop and mobile systems.
“Ionos is increasingly integrating AI functions into the tool suite, such as summaries of incoming emails or automatically generated response suggestions directly within the application,” explains Nauerz. However, he does not give a specific date for the market launch – only that it should be in the summer.
Challenges: Legal dispute with Onlyoffice and strong competition
However, the European software project also faces challenges. One of them concerns its own origins: Euro-Office is a fork, or rather a further development, of Onlyoffice, the open source office and collaboration platform from the Latvian company Ascensio System.
The Euro Office team decided to use Onlyoffice’s open source code to develop a variant fully controlled by European organizations. The background is reports about the project’s previous connections to Russia.
