– Bill Ho, president, Biscom, says:
Today, the amount of data being created, distributed and shared is growing quickly. The flattening of the world, through globalization, offshoring and outsourcing, has also created greater communication needs among partners and workers as network orchestration has increased.
Against that backdrop, users and IT are looking for enterprise-class file synchronization and sharing (EFSS) solutions that are easy to use for end users and include centralized management and control for IT. The goal is to provide syncing simplicity to users while allowing IT staff to maintain control over data in their network. IT is also looking for a solution that works within any organization’s existing infrastructure and is designed for businesses giving access to files any time and from any location.
“As workers increase the number of devices they use, the need for agile yet secure file and content sharing will continue to grow rapidly,” said Evan Quinn, research director, Enterprise Management Associates. “Enterprise-grade synchronization, control and dependability, with feature-rich yet highly secure document delivery, accommodating both cloud and on-premises, are exactly what companies need.”
IT’s top file sharing features focus on security, manageability and reporting.
- Outstanding security. File sharing should, ideally, comply with FIPS 140-2 certified 256-bit AES encryption. This enables IT to see if the file storage has been tampered with or changed from outside of the system.
- User management and flexibility. AD/LDAP integration, quotas, permissions should be included making the solution easy to use.
- Full control. Data needs to be fully under the control of IT with the ability to restrict users, devices and IP addresses that can sync.
- Deployment flexibility. Deployable to local, virtual and cloud infrastructure. Often a three-tier architecture maximum deployment flexibility and security is ideal with support for clustering. In the enterprise it is advisable to deploy a system that can scale up to tens of thousands of users.
- Easy integration. The solution should be easy to integrate with other applications and comprehensive enough to enable developers to create their own custom synchronization and sharing applications.
- Detailed reporting. Reporting is a key consideration in order to give IT the ability to perform auditing and forensic analysis.
End users need file sharing to be easy to use.
- Easy to use, simple to share and collaborate. Users are looking for solutions that empower users with a convenient solution that enables easy collaboration.
- Nearly instantaneous syncing. Near real-time syncing makes file synchronization among multiple devices secure and enables users to share content with people inside and outside of the company.
- Access anywhere, anytime – desktop, mobile, web. Feature rich and highly scalable, file sharing should provide a comprehensive sync and share solution.
- Security. A huge concern among IT, security features that don’t interfere with the workforce experience yet can be maintained and controlled by IT is a number one concern for compliance.
Today, IT administrators and end users are clamoring for safe, easy, trackable ways to have updated files at all times. The flexibility of any product, working within physical, virtual, or cloud infrastructure, means faster deployment and easy collaboration inside and outside of the enterprise. If an enterprise solution can meet these needs, it can become a perfect solution for everyone in the enterprise.
Bill Ho is president of Biscom, a leader in secure document delivery.
