Mobility with File Sync-n-Share
The traditional means of sharing files are breaking down. Consider today’s email attachments, content management systems, copies on user devices, copies in backups and copies on file servers. All these data activities lead to inefficient storage and network utilization owing to massive content duplication and high cost for storage, backup and data management. The limitations of the old methods have led to the popularity of consumer cloud-based file synchronization and sharing (sync-n-share) tools. It’s not just file sharing, though. The rise of BYOD habits means users want their work data on multiple devices. However, getting that work data onto a smartphone or tablet requires a user to enlist file-sharing techniques to get that data where they want it, which can make matters worse.
These trends are causing problems for IT as end users are generating and sharing more and more copies of data, exacerbating storage and network inefficiencies. Further, the end users store the data in unsanctioned devices, applications and clouds, which puts the data outside the control and governance of corporate IT. The response to this problem is not to ruthlessly enforce strict policies as end users will just find another workaround. It’s also not feasible to simply give up and turn data over to consumer clouds. The solution is to deliver file synchronization and sharing from within IT to enable users to access data and collaborate on any device, from any location, at any time. The solution does this safely, securely, and with corporate oversight, by using a private object-storage-based cloud.
Across today’s organizations, employees are creating and sharing more data than ever, but this information exchange no longer happens solely on an organization’s IT assets. New devices, cloud access and a wide world of new applications are empowering users to innovate with information. However, this productivity oftentimes comes at the expense of maintaining good stewardship over the data they use. Rogue applications and unsanctioned service providers can compromise the security of an organization’s data. Rather than implementing further controls that limit productivity or giving up control over corporate information to a third party, it’s possible to deliver these types of services from within the IT department.
