Embracing Enterprise File Sharing Services

It is the ongoing IT balancing act – enable the business users or secure the infrastructure?  As mobile device usage and collaboration work environments increase, the need for file sharing and synchronization tools is even greater.  Your users need to be able to access their work information regardless of the device used, and people need to share information with a wider range of partners and colleagues.  In recent past, users have simply taken advantage of online storage communities, such as Box, DropBox, or YouSendIt, in order to share data for easy retrieval.  However, concerns with security, management and compliance involving company data have risen, and now the balancing act is even more prominent than ever before. 

Luckily for your organization, a number of enterprise-class solutions are emerging allowing secure ways to share files and access data from anywhere in the world.  IT can have complete control over management, logging, and security requirements. 

Before implementing an enterprise file sharing solution, you need to ask yourself 4 important questions.

Where are enterprise files being stored and shared?  Significant risks develop when company information is shared with others.  You need to ensure data is stored in such a manner that compliancy and security regulations are being met.  Take into consideration the availability of the EFS solution. 

Who has access to your files?  It can be almost impossible to control with whom your employees are sharing files when they use consumer-based file share services.  With EFS solutions, sharing levels can be created to iterate where and when files can be shared.  Another complication with EFS solutions is that the service provider will have access to your data.  Be sure to review how their access controls are set up and what other mechanisms are in place to prevent security breaches or data loss.

How are your files protected?  Choose an option that enables encryption of your data both in transit and at rest.  Ensure a significant encryption level is used and that key lengths are adequate. 

Why will employees use this service?  That’s easy – they are already collaborating online and sharing data, so giving them an option that is meant to work with their existing technology both at work and at home, while promoting its use, will help employees embrace this new service. 

Remember, when evaluating EFS service providers, you must always consider how they secure their components, and keep in mind the controls surrounding data confidentiality, integrity and availability.