Collaboration and files
Nextcloud vs Dropbox: which should your business choose?
Short answer
Dropbox is an American service that syncs and shares files fast and reliably. Nextcloud is open source software that does the same on a server of your choice, with calendar, office suite and chat added if you want them. For a business the difference is in management and control: with Nextcloud you decide where the files are, who can reach them and what happens when someone leaves.
What is Dropbox good at?
Dropbox made syncing a folder big, and still does it excellently. It installs in a minute, works on every device and needs no explanation. For someone working alone, or a small team that wants to share files, there is little to criticise.
The points to watch appear when the business grows.
Where does a business run into trouble?
Personal accounts. Most businesses start with Dropbox on the account of the owner or an employee. Years later the whole administration sits in a folder that belongs to one person.
Management. Who can get in, what has been shared with outsiders, which devices sync along: with a personal account nobody knows. With a business plan somebody does, at a price per user.
The supplier. Dropbox is an American company. The files sit on infrastructure you have no control over.
How do they compare?
| Subject | Dropbox | Nextcloud |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Syncing and sharing | Syncing and sharing, plus calendar, office suite, chat |
| Setup | Create an account | Set up a server, or have it done |
| Owner of shared folders | A user, or the team on a business plan | The organisation |
| Signing in | Its own Dropbox account | Your work account, if you connect it |
| Location | At Dropbox | On the server you choose |
| Cost | Per user per month | For the server and the management |
When do you stay with Dropbox?
When it is well arranged and you are happy with it. A team with a business plan, folders that belong to the team and two-step verification for everyone has no pressing reason to switch.
When do you move?
When the company’s files are spread across personal accounts. When you have clients who ask where their documents are kept. When you want files, calendar and collaboration in one place instead of three services. Or when you do not want to pay per user for something that is, at its core, storage.
What is JevanaFiles in this story?
JevanaFiles is Nextcloud with only the file part, on our hardware in the Netherlands. It is meant for exactly this question: replacing Dropbox without taking a whole office suite along at once. If you want calendar or editing together later, we switch that on in the same environment.
The move itself is simple. The folders come across as they are. On each computer a new small program replaces the old one, and the folder stays in the same place.