Collabora Online
Collabora is an open-source office suite and collaboration platform designed to meet the needs of businesses, governments, educational institutions, and individual users. It is based on LibreOffice technology, which is one of the most widely used open-source office productivity suites globally. Collabora Productivity, the organization behind Collabora Office and Collabora Online, is the largest contributor to the LibreOffice codebase, reflecting its deep integration with and commitment to the open-source community.
Collabora Office serves as a desktop office suite that provides tools for creating and editing text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, and more. It supports a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft Office formats such as DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX, as well as the OpenDocument Format (ODF), which is widely used in the public sector. The suite includes advanced features for professional document design, such as multi-column layouts, tables, graphics insertion, and desktop publishing tools. Users can customize the interface to suit their preferences by modifying menus and icons or docking tool windows. Additionally, Collabora Office offers robust protection features such as password encryption for documents and revision tracking with password-protected change logs
Collabora Online extends this functionality into a cloud-based environment, enabling real-time collaborative editing of documents directly in a web browser. It allows multiple users to work on text documents, spreadsheets, or presentations simultaneously while maintaining full control over data privacy. This is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking alternatives to proprietary cloud platforms like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Collabora Online can be integrated with other platforms like Nextcloud or ownCloud to create a seamless ecosystem for file storage and document editing. Its "Secure View" feature enhances data security by ensuring that shared documents remain on the server while only rendering viewable portions as images to external users. This prevents unauthorized access or extraction of sensitive information.
As an open-source solution, Collabora adheres to principles of transparency and adaptability. Its source code is publicly available under permissive licenses such as MPLv2 (Mozilla Public License), allowing developers to modify or integrate it into their own applications. This openness not only fosters innovation but also ensures compliance with data sovereignty regulations by enabling on-premises deployment. Organizations can customize the software to meet their specific requirements or rely on Collabora's long-term support (LTS) options for stability and security updates over extended periods.
Security is a cornerstone of Collabora’s design philosophy. The platform has achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications for quality management and information security, respectively. It employs encryption protocols to protect data at rest and in transit while offering granular configuration options for administrators to lock down deployments securely. Features like digital watermarks discourage unauthorized sharing of sensitive information by embedding identifiable markers into document views.
Collabora’s enterprise-readiness is further demonstrated through its scalability and interoperability. It supports integration with various enterprise systems and provides administrative tools such as ADMX templates for managing thousands of settings centrally. The platform ensures compatibility with a vast array of file formats across text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and diagrams, making it suitable for diverse organizational workflows.
Collabora combines the value of LibreOffice’s open-source foundation with enterprise-grade enhancements to deliver a secure, flexible, and feature-rich office suite for both online and offline use. Its commitment to open standards ensures interoperability and long-term accessibility while empowering users with full control over their data. Whether deployed on-premises or in the cloud, Collabora remains a leading choice for organizations prioritizing digital sovereignty and collaboration efficiency.
