Nextcloud and the Roundcube email interface are merging.
Recently the news broke that Nextcloud announced the addition email client Roundcube, which translates into good news for users of the Roundcube client, as with this additional investmentl The development of this email client can continue to exist and develop under the wing of a new owner. With this historic partnership, the two projects want to transform the email landscape.
Nextcloud is a complete cloud storage service which can be installed on self-managed servers and not only takes on many of the functions that Dropbox's commercial offering also offers, but also provides numerous collaboration features. It can be used to make files available for download, manage calendars, take surveys, edit Office documents, make music available, and much more.
roundcube, on the other hand, It is one of the most used webmail applications in the world, has been in development since 2008 and provides a browser-based email client (web interface) that uses the IMAP protocol to access mail stored on the server.
Roundcube's design is close to classic email clients and uses Ajax technology to organize asynchronous data exchange with the server without reloading web page components.
Both solutions are aimed at self-hosts, That is, users who use and manage the corresponding solutions on their own servers with their own domain to be future-proof independently of commercial products.
We are delighted to announce that the Roundcube project has found a new home with Nextcloud. Becoming new administrators of a popular webmail client trusted by both highly regulated industries and security-savvy users, we set sail to foster growth and improvement of the project. This marks a new milestone for global IT decentralization.
Regarding the acquisition, it is mentioned in the blog post that Roundcube and Nextcloud users are assured that there will be no immediate changes at this time. Instead, they can expect better integration and accelerated development from Roundcube.
In addition, it is mentioned in the publication that Nextcloud plans to invest in developers working on Roundcube to accelerate the development of this widely used open source webmail software.
By using Nextcloud or Roundcube, users can anticipate greater autonomy and control over their digital experiences. Both projects will continue to focus on self-hosting and privacy, as well as great user experiences.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. and it is emphasized that Roundcube will not replace Nextcloud Mail, at least in the short term and there are no plans for the two to merge. Roundcube will continue to be developed as a standalone email client that can be used without being tied to the Nextcloud platform.
“The merger not only underlines the collective strength of the open source community, but also our continued commitment to data protection, security and user self-determination,” explains Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud GmbH.
It should be noted that Nextcloud Mail and Roundcube have their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as different use cases.
Thomas Brüderli, founder of Roundcube , Explain:
"Both projects share the same ideology about the role and importance of free software as an independent alternative to the main cloud services."
Even though Nextcloud's statement calls the product a "secure email client," Roundcube security leaves a lot to be desired y It is possible that with this greater investment in Roundcube, some of the original plans laid out years ago with the Roundcube-Next crowdfunding initiative on Indiegogo, led by former KDE developer Aaron Seigo and featuring Thomas Brüderli, are actually implemented. RoundCube-Next raised more than €94.000 to deliver significantly revised software, but failed to implement it.
Finally if you are interested in knowing more about it, you can check the details in the following link