# Nextcloud Workspace Overview

Nextcloud Workspace is a fully managed, sovereign collaboration and productivity platform hosted securely within IONOS Cloud data centers. This page covers the platform's key capabilities, how the workspace lifecycle works, and the prerequisites for getting started.

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**Prerequisites:** Before provisioning a Nextcloud Workspace, ensure you meet the following requirements:

* **Active IONOS Cloud account:** You must have an active billable contract and login credentials for the IONOS Cloud Data Center Designer (DCD).
* **Appropriate permissions:** You must be an administrator or a contract owner to create Workspaces from the DCD.
* **(Optional) Custom domain:** If you intend to use your own custom login URL, you will need access to your domain's DNS settings to configure them to point to the workspace.
  {% endhint %}

## Nextcloud Workspace workflow

1. **Initiate provisioning:** In the DCD, go to **Menu** > **Sovereign Workplace** > **Nextcloud Workspace** > **Create Nextcloud workspace**.
2. **Configure the order:** Specify a name for your workspace, the desired number of user seats, and an email address for the initial administrator account, review the pricing, and create the workspace. For more information, see [<mark style="color:blue;">Configure Your Nextcloud Workspace</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/how-tos/configure-nextcloud-workspace).
3. **Wait for activation:** The workspace will initially appear with a **Deploying** status. Once the background setup is complete, the status will change to **Available**.
4. **Set up administrator access:** Once the workspace is active, a welcome email is sent to the designated administrator address. Click the link in the email to be forwarded to the Nextcloud interface, where you will choose a password and log in for the first time.
5. **Manage the lifecycle:** Any future administrative configurations (like creating users or managing files) are done directly within Nextcloud. Managing the workspace from the DCD is strictly limited to capacity and billing controls: you can return to the DCD at any time to increase the number of provisioned seats, or delete the workspace entirely. For more information, refer to the [<mark style="color:blue;">Nextcloud User management Documentation</mark>](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/configuration_user/user_configuration.html).