VNC Donates Helm Charts for ownCloud File Sharing on Kubernetes
VNC, a provider of open source collaboration applications, has created Helm Charts for ownCloud that makes it easier to deploy the open source file sharing platform on Kubernetes clusters.
Andrea Wörrlein, CEO, says VNC decided to create those Helm Charts because it incorporates ownCloud within the VNClagoon communication and collaboration suite of applications it provides to enterprise customers. Many of those customers are now looking to deploy VNC applications on Kubernetes clusters, he adds.
As an alternative to YAML files, Helm Charts provide IT teams with human-readable configuration files that make it easier to deploy software on Kubernetes clusters by providing recipes for deploying components of an application in the proper sequence.
Patrick Maier, a senior product manager for ownCloud, says VNC and ownCloud will jointly maintain the Helm Charts created by VNC, which will replace an existing set of Helm Charts that had become inoperable.
The ownCloud platform has gained traction as an alternative to cloud services such as Dropbox because it enables internal IT teams to provide a similar capability without having to rely on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform they don’t directly manage. In addition to reducing licensing costs, ownCloud also enables organizations to meet compliance mandates that require them to retain custody of their files.
Most recently, ownCloud launched the ownCloud Infinite Scale platform that was built using microservices written in the Go programming language. That approach also makes it simpler to both integrate ownCloud with other platforms and create custom extensions. At the same time, ownCloud continues to update and support the previous, more monolithic version of the platform. For example, ownCloud last month enabled integration with the Microsoft Teams collaboration platform.
It’s not clear how many organizations prefer to host their own file sharing platform, but given the sensitivity of many documents, there’s always going to be a need to make sure files aren’t inadvertantly shared outside the organization. It’s relatively easy for an end user to accidentally share files via a cloud service with someone they shouldn’t. With the advent of more stringent privacy regulations around the world, the cost of such mistakes is becoming prohibitively expensive.
End users, however, still require a more efficient way to share files using a central repository that is more secure than an email system. IT teams need to provide that capability to discourage end users from surreptitiously using a cloud service to share files and run afoul of any number of regulations.
Fortunately, there are several alternatives to cloud file sharing services that are designed to be deployed in an on-premises IT environment. Naturally, many of those IT organizations are now also moving to deploy Kubernetes clusters either in a local data center or on a private cloud they manage. The challenge now is finding a way to make it simpler to deploy software across what will soon become fleets of Kubernetes clusters that need to be managed at a much higher level of abstraction.
