London based startup launches open-source collaboration tools to help businesses avoid online surveillance.

The London based startup, Open Web Systems, which provides surveillance-free email and collaboration tools has launched a new service for businesses and groups.

The new tools include surveillance-free email, an all-in-one collaborative office suite to rival Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, and an instant messaging platform which provides an open-source alternative to Slack, Telegram or WhatsApp.

Hosted in Europe, the new services are powered entirely by renewable energy, offering groups an easy way to reduce the environmental impact of their online operations.

The new group tools are powered by Nextcloud, which features military-grade encryption and a large number of advanced security protections, including SSL/TLS encryption for data in transfer. Additionally, data in storage can be encrypted using AES-256 encryption with server-based or custom key management.

Open Web Systems was established to offer a cooperative alternative to the surveillance-capitalism model favoured by the big corporate players, which lure users with the offer of ‘free’ services but exploit their data.

“Big corporate players have turned the internet against us, by gathering our data and selling access to it for financial gain. If you’re not paying for your online communication tools your data is inevitably being exploited. Open Web Systems provides an alternative for people that care about data privacy and the environment. The launch of our new group tools provides a practical alternative for startups and small teams to avoid their private data being monetised or shared.”

Open Web systems’ group tools leverage the collective knowledge of a huge community of security experts. Nextcloud, the package which powers the Open Web System office suite, protects its users' security with a powerful Security Bug Bounty program. Anyone reporting a security vulnerability in Nextcloud can earn up to $10,000, making it one of the highest security bug bounties in the open source industry.

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