File sharing is a critical, sensitive and valuable task for companies in all verticals. It’s costly, involves patching, management, and brings complications to international transactions. Is ditching VPNs and file servers and adopting SaaS the answer for all?
It’s been a long time since employees shared files by lobbing floppy disks around the office. File servers were the ultimate tool for storing sensitive data, allowing the right people in and the right material out. But there’s a new cat in town.
Virtualising servers and data centres might be changing the role of the ever comfortable IT buff in the corner, however, that might not be such a bad thing.
Rolling with the punches
Technology is an industry that moves very quickly and as a result certain areas are forced to adjust and adapt to remain relevant, safe, and, importantly, at a high enough standard for its patrons. Technology very much has to roll with the punches. This type of industry will stack up the body count of casualties and this particular topic is no different.
However, IT managers won’t be weeping at the wake of VPNs and file servers when they weigh up the alternatives. The BYOD trend has increased the challenges of server management, with a high number of endpoint devices accessing servers from anywhere around the world and at anytime, some of which may be very difficult to identify. In which case, storage of sensitive data and sharing files needs to be safer, clearer, more accessible and of course more manageable.
“Today’s mobility era stimulates the usage of corporate mail accounts and webmail on mobile devices, which is one of the main trends in the corporate sphere. Mobile messaging applications such as BBM and Whatsapp are also being used increasingly for file sharing. These changes are therefore viewed as the main trends in file sending and receiving in today’s business world,” Alex Zarovsky, International Business Chief, InfoWatch, puts it plainly.
Florian Malecki, Product Marketing Manager, EMEA, Dell SonicWALL, stresses the point of how vital the influx of mobile devices has been on the change in file management.
“This has changed drastically from traditional methods. Businesses were once comfortable knowing that information was shared in a safe environment,” he says.
“But with the advent of smartphones and tablets users can access information anywhere and anytime which may present challenges for organisations.”
Yannick Kunegel, Systems Engineering Manager, Citrix Systems, EEMEA, looks forward to how the changes will evolve over time, now that cloud has fully announced itself in Middle East business, it’s easier to track the trends.
“In the PC era, data was typically stored on a single personal computer, accessed from a physical office and shared via flash drives or email. As the industry transitions to the cloud era, an increasingly mobile workforce is demanding easy access to data that is untethered from offices and devices, and easy to share and collaborate securely with others. These trends are giving rise to the concept of a ‘personal cloud’ – the aggregation of apps, data, preferences and friends that are unique to each individual employee, and move seamlessly across any device or location.”
Wandering data
As with any hallelujah trend which makes its way into enterprise, there is always a dark side. The difficulties of cloud data and file sharing must be known, however, mitigating these risks will be the major talking point for IT managers and SaaS vendors worldwide.
The traditional data centre would hold all files and data and be able to simply identify which outside sources were attempting to access the information. Keeping tabs on the material was one of the tasks for IT teams, but now that task has evolved. Employees want to have their information on a number of devices and they want to access that data from any location. Mobility and BYOD is all about limiting restrictions and this is the crux of the problem for management.
Once files are lifted from traditional file servers and placed into the cloud, they can become the responsibility of third party hosts, which limits the control of the IT team. However, the more important point to make is that once those files are shared across a number of devices and locations, they become the responsibility of someone who might not be fully prepped on the seriousness of information security – the employee/customer.
“The reality however is that users are using cloud based storage in their personal life, and as they realise its value, they’re bringing it to work, hence exposing corporate data to risk. IT is left with two options; either blocking the use of these insecure services and reducing business productivity, or allowing their use. This justifies the need for a secure, managed service that allows IT to determine how sensitive data is stored, accessed and shared,” Kunegel says.
Malecki adds to this point: “If you don’t control the data that is downloaded onto your device and you lose that device, all of that data is at risk, which exposes your company. If IT didn’t have any protections for the data on these devices, the problems would be very clear.”
Cloud providers do have answers however. Kunegel promptly adds that a number of precautions have been taken in order to stop these events from having any further consequences.
“Advanced security features including remote wipe, device lock and data expiration policies are required for a complete control of enterprise data. Robust reporting and auditing features are needed for IT to track and log user activity in real time and create custom reports to meet corporate data policies and compliance requirements,” he says.
Zarovsky highlights the importance of the product when considering cloud options for data storage and sharing.
“As the data stored in the cloud is managed by cloud services providers, it is very important to choose the right vendor. A reliable provider must not only undertake technical measures for data protection but also strictly follow data security compliance. In other words, the provider should be responsible for the confidentiality of a client’s sensitive data.”
An offer you can’t refuse
The top software and storage providing vendors all offer extremely strong file sharing solutions, a lot of which aren’t brand new. Products like these are a surefire benefit for all businesses, but which businesses would benefit the most from products that ensure quick, seamless and safe document management?
“The main function of IT in healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and banking channels is providing a convenient and reliable e-channel for selling goods and commodities or offering different services. Cloud based sharing is one of the most convenient, cost-effective and logical services for these verticals,” Zarovsky says.
Kunegel hones in on ways in which these high value verticals can benefit from this technology.
“Any vertical can potentially benefit from cloud based storage solutions. On one hand, it increases productivity of mobile workers. On the other hand, as organisations move towards a paperless environment, it simplifies data sharing with business partners and customers,” he explains.
“In the manufacturing sector for instance, there is usually a need for sharing large documents between all parties involved in a project. Email is not appropriate and FTP services are not very user friendly, not to mention lack of security during transfers. In HealthCare, x-ray or MRI images could be easily shared not only with patients, but also with specialists working from different locations in order to leverage their expertise and help in the diagnostic process.”
The future of technology is always geared towards extending safety, increasing speed and performance, and enhancing user experience. The cloud based file and data sharing option appears to be a no-brainer for businesses in all sectors that wish to easily collaborate, transfer, connect and receive between each other internally and externally.
The limitations of the past have been answered with such technology, now it’s just up to users to ditch the restrictions and move to the cloud
