As of today you reach us through a completely new look. The new homepage is faster, more clearly structured and at home on every screen — from a phone to a large monitor.
We rebuilt the site from the ground up: editions laid out side by side, a tidy download area, transparent pricing and this activity feed that gathers releases, security notices and company news in one place. Everything remains available in both German and English.
Have a look around — and tell us what you notice. Feedback is very welcome.
SharePoint 2016 and 2019 are out of support — the Microsoft cloud is not the only way out
Extended support for SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 ended on 14 July 2026. No more security updates, no patches, no support. Office Online Server follows on 31 December 2026 — taking with it the browser-based editing of Office documents that many organisations built directly on top of it.
Microsoft offers two routes: the SharePoint Subscription Edition in your own data centre, or Microsoft 365 in the cloud. Both carry a cost that is not only measured in licence fees. The Subscription Edition means a migration, a subscription, and running everything yourself as before. The cloud route means your content moves within reach of the US CLOUD Act — and since the Schrems II ruling that is not a formality for public authorities, universities and regulated industries, but a question you have to answer to your legal supervision.
There is a third route, and it is less work than its reputation suggests. Most of the fear around changing platforms concerns things that do not actually change. Sign-in stays: in your own data centre PowerFolder attaches to the same Active Directory, LDAP, SAML or Kerberos that SharePoint draws on today, and roles and organisational units keep coming from the directory. Office documents are still edited in the browser, through the ONLYOFFICE integration, together and in real time — precisely the capability that disappears with Office Online Server. The route through Outlook stays: the add-in replaces the attachment with a link carrying a password, an expiry date and a download limit. And anyone who mounted folders as a drive gets that back over WebDAV.
What changes is the location. Your content sits either on your own hardware behind your firewall, or in ISO 27001 certified data centres in Germany, with a German contracting party. The Art. 28 GDPR processing agreement is part of the contract, with no separate signature. Every file action lands in a granular audit log that can be kept audit-proof and handed to a SIEM — which a public tender usually requires anyway.
The move runs in waves, not over a weekend. What works: first take stock of where the data and the workflows actually live; then run a pilot with a single team; import the accounts in bulk via CSV, Active Directory or LDAP; then department by department. The old routes are closed only once the new one carries the load. A state ministry with 2,400 staff replaced SharePoint Online this way and was in production after six weeks.
The deadline is fixed; the direction is not. Three ways to try it: download the Community Edition and start on your own hardware — free forever for up to 50 users, no licence key. Start in the cloud if you would rather not run it yourself — servers in Germany, 30 days to try with no payment details. Or discuss your migration if you want to know what this looks like for your environment — we will work it through with you.
PowerFolder 28: tags, joining on request and a big step for Android
Version 28 is final. New, and by far the most visible change day to day: files and folders can be tagged — in the web portal, without rebuilding the folder structure. A document can belong to a project, a customer and a year at the same time instead of being filed three times. Tags are shared by everyone in a folder and sit right in the file list.
Search follows suit: filters by tag, period, size, file type and phrase, fuzzy matching for typos, several tags combined — and the search runs across all folders in parallel rather than one after another.
The second big arrival: folders you can ask to join. People who are not members yet find moderated folders through a filter of their own — only the name and description are visible, never the contents — and send a join request with a short comment. The people in charge get an e-mail with a direct link, assign the requester to existing groups and approve or decline, each with a reason. It replaces the round-robin e-mails people send today looking for the right contact.
Nested groups map grown organisational structures one to one at last. The password change and reset pages were hardened against account enumeration and automated attempts.
The Android app takes its biggest step in a long while: a grid view for folders and files, full-text search now on mobile too, a recycle bin for restoring deleted files, and protection against screenshots and screen recording — which matters wherever documents must not leave the device. Add noticeably better behaviour offline and on weak mobile networks, a reworked document viewer, and a sensible default sort order: folders first, then files.
Anyone migrating from Alfresco will find a complete toolset: folders, permissions, groups and profile data move across via CMIS, the Alfresco tags come with them, and titles and descriptions can be turned into tags. Individual folders can be taken over read-only where that is wanted. Add delta runs, a daily schedule, automatic reconciliation and a migration dashboard of its own.
Service pack 3 of the 26 series contains a security update and nothing else — no feature changes. We recommend that every installation on the 26 series updates promptly. Build 26.3.100 is available for Linux and Windows; customers with a maintenance agreement can request further detail through support.
PowerFolder 27.3: folders as network drives, Argon2id, OpenDocument
You can now publish PowerFolder folders as an SMB/Samba/CIFS share, with the existing PowerFolder permissions still applying. Passwords are hashed with Argon2id by default, and existing SHA-256 hashes migrate automatically at the next successful login. The online editor creates new documents as ODT, ODS or ODP; the News page has become an activity feed with bulk restore for deleted files, and a global file search now spans every top-level folder.
Full-text search with OCR — and a licence built into the Community Edition
Service packs 26.2 and 27.2 search inside document contents, including text recognition in images and scanned PDFs, indexed in the background and sparing on resources. They add a sharing dialog for sub-folders that shows inherited permissions, help tooltips throughout the web interface, and protection against automated sign-ups. The same delivery gives the PowerFolder Community Edition a built-in licence for up to 50 users.
PowerFolder 26.1 and 27.0: login history and sub-folder sharing
Version 26.1 shows your recent logins in the web interface, redesigns the device overview and lets you create WebDAV tokens under My Account / Devices; shared folders of expired accounts can be locked automatically. In parallel, version 27.0 introduces sharing of individual sub-folders as a beta feature — a shared sub-folder appears at the recipient as a top-level folder — and splits the folder list into My Folders and Shared Folders. For production use the release notes for 27.0 still recommend version 26.x.
2025
PowerFolder 26: restore top-level folders from the recycle bin
Administrators and users can restore top-level folders straight from the recycle bin for the first time. The version supports ONLYOFFICE Document Server 9.1.x and 9.2.x, shows lock and editing status in the web interface, and extends registration with address, telephone and note fields as well as protection against self-activation by e-mail domain.
PowerFolder 23.3: Content Security Policy and faster login
Version 23.3 arrived three weeks after 23.2 as a service pack. It protects the web portal with a Content Security Policy against cross-site scripting and clickjacking, renews the HARICA certificate of the desktop client and reworks token and session handling for WebDAV. Calculating used storage became faster, which speeds up login; invitations in large folder structures behave more reliably.
PowerFolder 23.4 enables Content Security Policy headers by default
The fourth service pack of the 23 series turns on Content Security Policy headers against cross-site scripting by default and adds two administrative API endpoints for reviewing and deleting expired organisations. Default folders can be created automatically at first login; the e-mail templates were reworked, and errors when downloading and copying file links in sub-directories and with password-protected links were fixed.
PowerFolder 23.2 with JSON Web Tokens and six new languages
Access to the Document Server is secured with JSON Web Tokens from version 23.2. Incomplete downloads are deleted automatically after 30 days, storage limits follow actual usage, and resellers see open invoices immediately after logging in. The interface is now also available in Turkish, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Dutch.
Ten years of BayernShare: 120,000 users at 24 institutions
In 2013 and 2014 the LRZ and the RRZE independently looked for a data-protection-compliant alternative to commercial providers and both chose PowerFolder; LRZ Sync+Share and FAUbox launched in autumn 2015 and merged into BayernShare in 2022. For the anniversary the computing centres report around 120,000 users at 24 Bavarian institutions, some 500 million files and roughly 600 terabytes of data, with 50 gigabytes of storage per account.
PowerFolder 23.1 with a setup assistant and steadier connections
Version 23.1 brings a setup assistant to the desktop client and improves the WebSocket connections so sessions drop less often. On the server the database structure is prepared for sub-folder sharing and the SAML integration was optimised. The iOS app is compatible with iOS 18; the Android app gained swipe menus for file actions and steadier uploads.
A European alternative while US data protection stays uncertain
After the change of course in United States policy, the future of the Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework is open. PowerFolder points out that all data is stored encrypted and GDPR-compliant on ISO-27001-certified servers in Germany — which makes companies independent of however US data protection law develops.
PowerFolder 22.3: reworked apps for Android and iOS
The mobile apps gain a swipe menu for navigation, a light and a dark mode, a simplified invitation flow and a warning before uploading when storage is running low. The language follows the device settings. In the server and desktop versions multi-factor authentication is now enabled by default, and storage migrations run at night only.
2024
PowerFolder 22 SP1: the Outlook add-in is back
Service pack 1 brings the Outlook add-in back. It turns attachments of any size into PowerFolder links, and you set the expiry, the number of downloads and the password protection yourself. The storage indicator in the web interface now sits next to the account button and points to an upgrade once usage passes 90 percent.
PowerFolder 22 with deeper Android integration
On Android you now open and save files directly in the Android file system, and sync icons show the state of synchronisation. The iOS app supports PDF export and dark mode. On the server, protection against denial-of-service attacks was extended — with and without federation — and the database layout optimised for large installations.
PowerFolder 21 SP1: WOPI integration ready for production
The WOPI integration with Collabora and ONLYOFFICE is released for production use from version 21 SP1, which also makes document editing available in the mobile apps. The Mac client supports ARM processors natively after moving to the Bellsoft JDK. Multi-factor authentication can be reset using recovery words.
PowerFolder 21.0: edit documents on Android as well
After mobile document editing arrived on iOS with version 20.4, you can create and edit texts, spreadsheets and presentations in the Android app from version 21.0. The server received security fixes, among them throttling of HTTP requests to guard against overload attacks, along with improvements to restoring documents and folders.
PowerFolder 20.4: mobile document editing on iOS
Through the ONLYOFFICE integration you create and edit texts, spreadsheets and presentations on iOS for the first time — together with others at the same time. In the web portal the folder list can be sorted into your own and shared folders, and co-users are notified automatically when the folder owner runs out of storage.
PowerFolder Cloud for members of the DFN
Members of the German National Research and Education Network can obtain PowerFolder as a hosted service instead of running it themselves. ISO-27001-certified data centres in Nuremberg, Falkenhagen and Hüllhorst are available as locations. The offer covers entire universities as well as individual institutes, connects to existing single sign-on and leaves your administrators full administrative access; existing on-premise installations can be migrated in full.
PowerFolder moves to new offices in Monheim am Rhein
In early 2024 PowerFolder moved from Meerbusch near Düsseldorf to the Rheinpromenade in Monheim am Rhein. The reasons were the city-wide fibre rollout, blanket public Wi-Fi and the economic conditions: in the 2023 municipal ranking of the German Economic Institute, Monheim came first among the 396 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
2023
PowerFolder 20.1 with support for Android 13 and 14
Version 20 service pack 1 makes the Android app fully compatible with Android 13 and 14 and renews its interface. On the server, storage migration and the handling of folders within a federation were reworked, the internal Jetty web server updated and ONLYOFFICE 7.5 released. Login security can be configured per token, separately for clients, web and apps.
PowerFolder 20 with broader cover against the OWASP Top 10
The version number jumps from 19.2 straight to 20. The release adds two further security frameworks against cross-site scripting and authorisation flaws, together with measures against the OWASP Top 10: stricter input validation, parameterised database queries, extended authentication, role-based access control, output encoding and alerts from real-time monitoring.
A new partner programme for PowerFolder Drive
After taking over TERRA Drive from WORTMANN AG in September 2022 and renaming it PowerFolder Drive, a new partner programme starts. Sales partners move their customers into cloud operation through the multi-tenant platform and receive purchase prices with new discount tiers, an overview of their end customers and free consultations on pricing, technology and sales.
PowerFolder 19.0 puts ChatGPT into the document editor
Version 19.0 embeds ChatGPT in the document editor, where the assistant helps with writing, revising, researching, translating and explaining text. Large folder lists display faster, and QR code links open a file list instead of a ZIP download. The client supports macOS on M1 and M2 chips and the current Thunderbird version as an add-on.
PowerFolder 18.3 with multi-factor authentication
From version 18.3 you can secure login with multi-factor authentication, provided your administration enables it; the TOTP methods Google Authenticator and Authy are supported. The Thunderbird add-on was adapted to current versions of the mail client — it uploads large attachments to the cloud automatically and replaces them with download links.
2021
PowerFolder is not affected by the Log4j flaw CVE-2021-44228
On 15 December 2021 the German Federal Office for Information Security raised its highest warning level over Log4Shell: the affected Log4j versions 2.0-beta9 to 2.14.1 allow servers to be taken over remotely. PowerFolder is not affected, because the platform does not use Log4j but the logging mechanism implemented natively in Java. The partner product ONLYOFFICE Docs is not affected either.
PowerFolder 16.6 with a Thunderbird add-on
Version 16.6 brings the Thunderbird plugin into the client: you send large mail attachments with it and synchronise data between the mail program and cloud storage. Accounts can also be moved between organisations. Fixes cover multiple invitations from the web interface, upload forms and the LDAP configuration.
Free cloud access for schools after the DSK decision
The German data protection conference concluded by nine votes to eight that Microsoft Office 365 cannot be used in a data-protection-compliant way, criticising unclear responsibilities and transfers that cannot be verified. PowerFolder responded by offering secondary schools free cloud access with 50 GB of storage, integrated online editors and storage on ISO-27001-certified servers in Germany.