openDesk: Modular Sovereign Workplace for SME and Education

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openDesk is a Kubernetes-based, open-source digital workplace suite originally built by ZenDiS for German public administration. We maintain two modular distributions that extend openDesk Community Edition for specific audiences — while keeping the entire stack deployable with a single helmfile apply.

The Core Idea

openDesk CE provides a solid foundation: chat (Element), file management (Nextcloud), groupware (OX App Suite), video calls (Jitsi), project management (OpenProject), a wiki (XWiki), office suite (Collabora), and unified identity management via Keycloak (Nubus portal).

Our distributions layer on top of this foundation with domain-specific services, alternative components, and pre-configured integrations — all sharing the same Keycloak SSO.

openDesk SME

github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-sme

Tailored for small and medium enterprises that need a self-hosted, privacy-compliant collaboration stack without the overhead of enterprise licensing.

What Makes the SME Edition Different

The SME distribution focuses on practical business needs: reliable file sync, helpdesk, and knowledge management — services that organizations would otherwise pay SaaS vendors for.

Optional components beyond openDesk CE:

Every component is optional — enable only what your organization needs via a single enabled: true flag in opendesk_main.yaml.gotmpl.

One-Command Deployment

# opendesk_main.yaml.gotmpl
apps:
  zammad:
    enabled: true
  bookstack:
    enabled: true
  seafile:
    enabled: true
```text

```bash
helmfile apply
```text

## openDesk Edu

**[github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-edu](https://github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-edu)**

Built for universities and schools. Adds learning management systems and teaching-focused alternatives for video conferencing and file sharing.

### What Makes the Edu Edition Different

Educational institutions have fundamentally different requirements: LMS integration, lecture recording, breakout rooms, and per-course file sharing. openDesk Edu addresses these with both additional services and drop-in replacements.

**Learning management systems:**

| Component | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **ILIAS** | Full-featured LMS — courses, assessments, forums, SCORM compliance, SAML SSO |
| **Moodle** | Plugin-rich LMS — assignments, workshops, gradebook, Shibboleth auth |

**Teaching-focused alternatives** (choose one):

| Standard (openDesk CE) | Education Alternative | Why Switch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jitsi | **BigBlueButton** | Built for teaching: recording, whiteboard, breakout rooms, session timers |
| Nextcloud | **OpenCloud** | Lightweight for education: per-course shares, CS3-based sync |
| OX App Suite | **SOGo** | Email-focused, modern UI, tight LDAP integration, better student experience |

**Additional education tools:**

| Component | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| **Etherpad** | Real-time collaborative editing for workshops and live sessions |
| **BookStack** | Structured course materials and documentation |
| **Planka** | Student project tracking and research planning |
| **Zammad** | IT support helpdesk for campus |
| **LimeSurvey** | Course evaluations and academic research surveys |
| **LTB SSP** | Self-service password reset — reduces helpdesk tickets |
| **Draw.io** | Architecture diagrams, flowcharts, UML for CS courses |
| **Excalidraw** | Lightweight whiteboarding for brainstorming |
| **TYPO3** | University website and department pages |

### Unified SSO Across All Services

Every service — from ILIAS to BigBlueButton to Nextcloud — authenticates through a single Keycloak instance using SAML 2.0 or OIDC. Students and faculty log in once and access everything.

### Presented at CLT 2026

The Edu distribution was presented at Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2026, with materials available in **30 languages** including German, English, French, Spanish, and Chinese.

## Shared Architecture

Both distributions share the same technical foundation:

- **Kubernetes** — container orchestration with Helm + helmfile
- **Keycloak** — unified SSO via SAML 2.0 and OIDC
- **Nubus Portal** — single entry point for all services
- **k8up** — automated backups with restic
- **Modular Helm charts** — each service independently configurable

## Key Differences at a Glance

| Aspect | SME | Edu |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Target** | Companies, agencies, freelancers | Universities, schools, research |
| **Core addition** | Business tools (helpdesk, CRM, surveys) | LMS (ILIAS, Moodle) |
| **Video** | Jitsi (standard) | BigBlueButton (teaching-optimized) |
| **Email** | OX App Suite (full groupware) | SOGo (student-friendly) |
| **Files** | Seafile (high-performance sync) | OpenCloud (per-course shares) |
| **Auth focus** | LDAP + OIDC | SAML 2.0 (Shibboleth for LMS) |
| **Scaling** | Small teams to mid-size orgs | Hundreds to thousands of concurrent users |

## Get Started

Both distributions are open source (Apache-2.0) and available on GitHub:

- **SME**: [github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-sme](https://github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-sme)
- **Edu**: [github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-edu](https://github.com/tobias-weiss-ai-xr/opendesk-edu)

For consulting, integration support, or custom deployments, contact [info@tobias-weiss.org](mailto:info@tobias-weiss.org).