Nextcloud Server
Open-source file sync and sharing with desktop clients, Android and iOS apps, share links with passwords and expiry, file versions, a trash bin and two-factor login. Calendar, contacts and other apps can be added from its app store.
Nextcloud hosting in Kenya
Your own company file cloud, on a server you control
Install Nextcloud or Seafile on a storage server and give staff desktop sync, mobile apps and password-protected share links, much like a public cloud drive. The difference is that the accounts, the files and the admin password belong to your company, with terabytes of space on SATA disks.
15 users
We suggest
Storage S2
KES 5,000/mo
Fifty users at about 65 GB each including versions come to roughly 3.25 TB of the 4 TB disk. The 8 GB of RAM leaves room for Redis caching.
Order Storage S2Why some companies move off public file-sharing services
Many Kenyan teams share files through a mix of personal Google Drive and Dropbox accounts, WhatsApp attachments and USB drives. It works until a staff member leaves and the client folder goes with their personal account, or until you need to know who downloaded a contract. Per-user subscriptions also add up as the team grows and everyone wants more space.
Nextcloud and Seafile are open-source alternatives you run yourself. Staff install a sync client on Windows, macOS or Linux, and an app on Android or iPhone. Files sync to a folder on the computer, sharing links can have a password and an expiry date, and earlier versions of a file can be restored after a bad save. When someone leaves, you disable one account and their work stays with the company.
Running your own service brings duties too. You handle updates, TLS certificates, backups of the Nextcloud data and its database, and user support. A storage plan gives you the disk space and root access to do that. Large SATA disks suit a file cloud well; the small database Nextcloud uses for metadata runs comfortably beside the files for a typical office.
The problem
File-sharing problems a private cloud solves
Files leave with the employee
When work lives in personal cloud accounts, a resignation can take years of client documents with it. Company-owned Nextcloud accounts mean an administrator can disable the login and transfer the files to a colleague the same afternoon.
No idea who shared what
Public links forwarded on WhatsApp keep working long after anyone remembers them. Nextcloud lets you set passwords and expiry dates on share links, and its activity log shows which files were shared, changed or deleted.
Per-user fees keep climbing
Commercial cloud drives charge per person per month, and extra storage costs more on top. A self-hosted service on a fixed-price server lets you add users without changing the bill, as long as the disk has space.
Data sitting under another company account
With a public service your files live in an account that another company can suspend, reprice or change terms on. On your own server, you decide where files sit, who has admin rights and when data is deleted.
What runs on it
Software for a self-hosted company cloud
You install and maintain these yourself with root access. Nextcloud is the broader suite; Seafile is narrower and focused on fast file sync.
Nextcloud All-in-One
The official Docker-based installer. It sets up Nextcloud with its database, Redis caching and optional extras, and includes a built-in backup feature based on BorgBackup. A practical starting point if you prefer not to assemble each component by hand.
Seafile
File sync organised into libraries, with block-level syncing that handles large files and many small ones efficiently. Libraries can be encrypted on the client with a password the server never sees, useful for finance or HR folders.
Collabora Online
A LibreOffice-based online office suite that integrates with Nextcloud, so staff can open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in the browser, including several people editing the same document at once.
Certbot and Let's Encrypt
Free TLS certificates for your cloud domain, such as files.yourcompany.co.ke. Certbot requests and renews them automatically, so the desktop and mobile clients always connect over HTTPS.
Sizing
How much storage does your team need?
Set the number of staff who will sync files. We assume about 50 GB per person, plus around 30% for file versions and deleted items.
- 1–10 users Storage S1 Ten users at 50 GB each, plus 30% for versions and trash, need about 650 GB. That fits on 1 TB, and 2 GB of RAM is enough for a small team.
- 11–50 users Storage S2 Fifty users at about 65 GB each including versions come to roughly 3.25 TB of the 4 TB disk. The 8 GB of RAM leaves room for Redis caching.
- 51–100 users Storage S3 One hundred users need around 6.5 TB with versions. Storage S3 adds four cores and 16 GB of RAM, useful if you also run Collabora Online.
- 101–150 users Storage S4 Up to 150 users at about 65 GB each come to roughly 9.75 TB, within the 12 TB of Storage S4, with six cores for busy mornings.
- 151+ users Storage S5 Above 150 users, Storage S5 gives 16 TB and 32 GB of RAM. At 200 users the estimate is about 13 TB, leaving space to grow.
This is an estimate: design and video teams can use many times 50 GB each, while office staff with mostly documents often use far less, so check your current shared drives first.
Storage S1
KES 2,000/mo
- 1 core
- 2 GB RAM
- 1 TB SATA storage
- 2 TB transfer
Storage S2
KES 5,000/mo
- 2 cores
- 8 GB RAM
- 4 TB SATA storage
- 8 TB transfer
Storage S3
KES 7,000/mo
- 4 cores
- 16 GB RAM
- 8 TB SATA storage
- 16 TB transfer
Storage S4
KES 15,000/mo
- 6 cores
- 24 GB RAM
- 12 TB SATA storage
- 24 TB transfer
Storage S5
KES 20,000/mo
- 8 cores
- 32 GB RAM
- 16 TB SATA storage
- 32 TB transfer
Before you go live
Setting up Nextcloud or Seafile for your team
0 of 8 done. Tick them off as you go.
Built for Kenya
Running a private cloud in Kenya
Keeping control of personal data
HR files, client contracts and ID scans are personal data under the Data Protection Act, 2019. Running your own file service lets you decide who has admin access, how long files are kept and how deletion requests are handled, which makes your data protection records easier to keep.
Sync clients cope with outages
Desktop sync clients keep a local copy of synced folders, so staff can keep working through an internet or power cut and changes upload when the line returns. Check your office upload speed before the first big migration of shared drives.
Mobile access for field teams
Sales, survey and site teams can upload photos and documents from Android phones through the Nextcloud or Seafile app. Auto-upload of the camera folder sends site photos straight into a shared team folder, rather than into personal WhatsApp chats.
Questions
Nextcloud private cloud: your questions, answered
Is Nextcloud a good alternative to Google Drive or Dropbox for a company?
For file sync and sharing, yes. Nextcloud has desktop and mobile clients, share links, versions and team folders. The trade-off is that you run it: updates, backups and user support become your job or your IT provider's job, rather than the vendor's.
Should I choose Nextcloud or Seafile?
Choose Nextcloud if you want a broader suite with calendars, contacts and browser editing through Collabora. Choose Seafile if you mainly need fast, dependable file sync for large folders, or want client-side encrypted libraries. Both are open source and run well on a Linux server.
Can staff access Nextcloud from their phones?
Yes. Nextcloud and Seafile both have Android and iOS apps for browsing, uploading and sharing files, and both can upload the phone camera folder automatically. Staff log in with their company account, and an administrator can revoke a lost phone session from the web interface.
Do I still need backups if files are synced to Nextcloud?
Yes. Sync copies deletions and ransomware damage as faithfully as it copies good work. Versions and the trash bin help with small mistakes, but you should also back up the data directory and the database to a separate location on a schedule.
Can I use my company domain for the file cloud?
Yes. Create a subdomain such as files.yourcompany.co.ke, point it at the server IP address, and install a free Let's Encrypt certificate. Staff then sign in to a familiar address, and share links your clients receive carry your company name.
Is a SATA storage server fast enough for Nextcloud?
For a typical office, yes. File sync is mostly reading and writing whole files, which SATA disks handle well, and Redis caching takes load off the database. Very large teams with heavy simultaneous use may want the database on a separate NVMe VPS.
Also on Storage Hosting
Backup storage for what you need to keep
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