openDesk: Modular Sovereign Workplace for SME and Education
openDesk: Modular Sovereign Workplace for SME and Education
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 CE (shared core)
├── Element, Nextcloud, OX App Suite, Jitsi
├── OpenProject, XWiki, Collabora, CryptPad
└── Keycloak SSO + Nubus Portal
│
┌────┴────┐
│ │
SME Edu Edu
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:
| Component | Purpose | Why It Matters for SMEs |
|---|---|---|
| OpenCloud | Alternative file sync | Lightweight OIDC-integrated file sharing with per-team shares |
| Seafile | High-performance sync | PostgreSQL-backed file sync for large teams with bandwidth constraints |
| Zammad | Helpdesk & ticketing | Multi-channel support (email, chat, phone) with OIDC auth |
| Planka | Kanban boards | Lightweight project boards as an alternative to OpenProject |
| BookStack | Knowledge base | Structured documentation for SOPs, onboarding, internal wikis |
| TYPO3 | CMS | Public-facing website with Shibboleth/OIDC authentication |
| LimeSurvey | Surveys | Customer feedback, employee satisfaction, market research |
| Etherpad | Collaborative editing | Real-time meeting notes and document co-editing |
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
helmfile apply
openDesk Edu
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) |
| 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:
For consulting, integration support, or custom deployments, contact info@graphwiz.ai.