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In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations urgently need secure and efficient alternatives to traditional VPNs for file sharing. On our latest website, we introduce a revolutionary solution tailored to meet these challenges. This innovative approach not only ensures the security of your sensitive data through robust encryption, but also promotes collaboration between teams, regardless of geographical boundaries. Imagine a platform that combines the best of security and simplicity, providing seamless access, unparalleled ease of use and removing the usual complexities of VPNs. This solution is all about empowering your team, optimizing workflows, and protecting your company’s most valuable assets from new threats. It’s tailored to the modern business that wants to combine security with simplicity, and revolutionizes the way we think about secure file sharing in the digital age.
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In the age of remote work and digitalization, many companies are transitioning to a virtual workspace. However, there are still many industries that rely on on-premise operations, and manufacturing is one of them.
One such company is Arm, a manufacturer of cutting-edge automobile products. Unlike companies that have outsourced their manufacturing, Arm keeps most of their operations on-premise and under their control. In fact, they do 99 and a half percent of everything inside their facility.
One of the biggest reasons for this is the nature of their business. Manufacturing requires a lot of physical labor, specialized equipment, and tight quality control. It’s not something that can be easily outsourced or done remotely.
But that’s not the only reason Arm chooses to keep most of their operations on-premise. They also believe in maintaining a high level of control over their production process. By doing everything in-house, they can ensure that their products meet the highest quality standards and that their customers receive top-notch service.
Of course, this approach may not work for every company. Many businesses have found success in outsourcing their manufacturing, sales, and warehousing operations to cut costs and increase efficiency. However, for companies like Arm, where quality and control are key, on-premise operations are the way to go.
Simplify External Access to Internal Shares without Active Directory Management Headaches
Eliminate Active Directory User Management Headaches
Organizations like Arm need to enable access to users in these manufacturing facilities who could be temporary workers or contractors to file server data in the central headquarter location. However, since these are temporary workers, Arm wants to avoid creating and managing their user accounts in their Active Directory environment. They also do not want all these temporary workers to use the same login and authorize access from different IP addresses, which is a security breach.
Arm was looking for a solution enabling access to company data from these remote manufacturing facilities and ensuring the user’s accounts are managed outside their Active Directory. This provides more manageable and more secure user management and the ability to have complete control of the file share access.
How does Triofox solve these issues without sacrificing security or control?
As a file server mobilization platform that is focused on file server compatibility, Triofox simplifies the creation of external users or guest users while maintaining the typical file server controls. The secure file-sharing platform goes further to provide the added benefits of security features like auditing, reporting, and ransomware protection.
This makes it much easier to secure external access to internal documents. If you want to collaborate with partners, distributors, suppliers, or vendors, you can provide remote access to corporate files and define how they will be accessed by users from external organizations. You’ll also be able to track any changes that they are making, increase the security of your corporate network and increase overall productivity.
In conclusion, while many companies are moving towards virtual workspaces, there are still many industries that rely on on-premise operations. For manufacturers like Arm, maintaining a high level of control over the production process is essential. By doing everything in-house, they can ensure that their products meet the highest quality standards and that their customers receive top-notch service.
In recent years, more and more publishing companies have turned to the internet for marketing and distribution, and many of the editorial process steps are being replaced with technological advances. Technology has allowed them to skip many of the traditional steps in the editorial process. For instance, many publishers receive proposals or manuscripts online, through email or some other means, instead of having to be printed and sent to their location via postal services. This process requires trust. To uphold their integrity, every publisher has to assume responsibility for protecting clients’ files if they are going to be trusted. Clients expect their files would remain safe with the organization, and versions won’t end up being leaked to the internet.
However, secure file sharing is an essential function for any modern publishing company. To enable optimal performance, there should be an effective file system for consolidation between the various departments such as sales, marketing, management, development, and editorial.
This begs the question, “How do you ensure the smooth running of operations if file sharing is a stinging concern?” Surely wanting both security and file-sharing flexibility is an impossibility paramount to eating one’s cake and having it.
Well, Triofox says it is not. In this piece, we review a case study and analyze how the Triofox solution proved to be an effective, secure file server access integration that delivers on both ends.
Use Case – Technology Publishing Firm
Outlined below are the operations of a tech publishing firm, and how a tweak in their file-sharing solution inspired by the lead qualification process could optimize their operations.
Company A is a Tech publishing Firm that set up a VMware environment in a local data center to maintain control over data. However, because they require potential clients to submit files for estimation as a prerequisite to closing a deal, they need a client-facing application for those potential clients to upload their files.
They tried Juniper Extranet, but the interface wasn’t quite flexible, so they tried Dropbox. The latter didn’t quite work for them either.
They settled for having clients/ external users work directly from the file server. The external users are added to Active Directory under a specific organizational unit (a container object created within a Microsoft Active Directory domain on a server for holding different objects such as users and groups).
External user access is disabled/removed if the contract doesn’t fall through. But when a deal closes, they set up a site-to-site VPN for the customer to share data with them.
Two issues identified with this workflow include:
Multi-platform data redundancy
Scalability limitation of VPN
In the next section, we break down these issues and show why they found Triofox an optimal solution.
Multi-Platform Data Redundancy
Dropbox provides a very convenient and nearly unrivaled solution to file sharing among groups of individuals. It’s free and instant, which is great for multi-device file access and backup. However, Dropbox has certain security limitations for enterprises, two of which, in this case, are privacy and data redundancy. This establishes the need to maintain a centralized data center and explains why many organizations opt for a private file server to keep a tight rein on their data. A process that entails developing custom permissions for each department as well as limiting access based on roles within those departments.
As with company A, to ensure the company has control over their data, data from Dropbox is replicated back to the file server, further burdening the IT administrators. The data redundancy limitations, if left unchecked, can lead to inconsistency issues for publishing firms (Multiply this issue with multiple writers and editors working on different projects in the organization, which could lead to multiple versions of the files existing on both Dropbox and the file server, making it difficult to keep track of file updates).
Meanwhile, when employees work with Dropbox, given the laxity in which data is being stored and shared, a slight oversight could lead to data falling into the wrong hands, a dicey situation in publishing as it can greatly tamper with profits.
Scalability Limitation Of VPN
Setting up a site-to-site VPN is not scalable. Site-to-site VPNs are established by connecting two gateways in separate locations via the internet. To create a site-to-site VPN, two VPN gateways, which could be routers or VPN connection devices, are set up in each location. This is neither scalable nor sustainable, especially with remote working gaining ground.
How Triofox Addresses These Problems
Minimizes Duplication
Triofox is an enterprise file-sharing alternative to Dropbox. It eliminates the need to copy files to external cloud file-sharing platforms and maintains control over file access when shared with external clients, eliminating the visibility issue of Dropbox.
Also, extending the server’s functionality to include remote file access or a private cloud-like file sharing feature prevents data from being replicated on other servers or applications, reducing file duplication. This private file sharing option preserves the company’s integrity, as customers expect their data to be handled with confidentiality.
Keep Track of File Updates
Whatever department needs to cooperate, having a system where each party can collaborate without overwriting each other’s work is crucial. Triofox has a file locking feature that ensures no one can edit a file being worked on by another person. Its versioning feature also ensures that at any point in time, previous versions can be restored, keeping all parties working in sync as well as serving as a backup in the case data is erroneously deleted. Like with company A, once leads are converted to customers, they can easily collaborate with others on the project. If they are not, access can still easily be revoked.
Maintain Control Over Data
With Triofox, they don’t have to source external cloud file-sharing services to enable remote collaboration. Data remains on the file server, while external users can access files from the web browser via their devices (data is securely sent over the HTTP/SSL protocol).
No Need to Set Up VPN to Access File Server
Users with existing permissions retain access to file shares and can access their files via the drive letter, while external users, who can be in any location in the world, can access the file server network shares with their mobile browsers without using a VPN to connect back to the corporate network. Also, integrating the solution is a seamless process. Minimal training is needed to get users adept at the new process.
Conclusion
Users can have the convenience of a Dropbox solution and the encryption security of a VPN tunneling solution, without the security and performance challenges of both. Other departments are also sure to utilize the advantages of Triofox as it guarantees timely and easy access to data or resources needed to carry out their functions, particularly in a remote-working setting.
There is no doubt that remote working offers numerous benefits regarding efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. But to reap these benefits, the right technology must be in place to support remote working. However, data sharing is the foundation that makes remote working possible for companies, with employee’s ability to work remotely being heavily reliant on how quickly and efficiently vital data and files can be accessed by those in need of such data.
One major challenge faced by businesses with employees working remotely is accessing corporate files securely. Hence, the goal is to secure network assets while ensuring employees working remotely have the ease of access as someone working in the office.
This blog explores the most common connection challenges faced by remote users and the best way to solve these issues.
VPN Limitations for Remote Working
Following the global lockdown declaration, it is understandable that most companies opted for Virtual Private Networks, the seemingly fastest connection route to keep their businesses afloat.
Many have since realized the problem with that choice. Listed below are the significant limitations of VPNs:
Offline Editing Capability
With companies hiring cross-continent while offering the work from home option, their employees must have offline editing options. The necessity is even more pronounced for digital nomads or employees working on the go, as they are likely to suffer internet inconsistencies.
Because VPNs require an active/ dedicated connection, when remote employees can’t access the files they need to work on in a timely fashion, it leads to a massive drop in productivity.
Leverage Content Delivery Network (CDN)
VPN traversing over a long distance is slow and fails to leverage CDN benefits such as improved uptime, reduced bandwidth, and SSL encryption, all available for HTTP-based protocols.
Integrate With Zero Trust Security Model
Businesses widely adopt the zero-trust approach to secure valuable network assets, particularly given the rise in remote working. Meanwhile, VPNs by their nature weren’t intended for the remote workforce as it requires perimeter access/ server proximity to work effectively.
Also, VPNs are the polar opposite of the zero trust model. Zero trust implementation is mostly HTTPS-based as a gateway, intercepting HTTPS communications and prompting authentication using advanced authentication methods. VPNs grant unrestricted access to the network, expanding attack surface areas.
Employee’s Hack Leads to Data Sprawl
Another challenge is data sprawl, whereby a user copies important files locally to maintain offline access. Not only does this lead to data inconsistencies, but it also compromises data security.
It is essential to keep data consistent even when offline, especially when working in teams. Ideally, all your data would be synced up when connected to the Internet, so changes are updated on the server and reside securely in the cloud.
Dampens Remote Work Experience
Employee experience in remote working is crucial. As shown in Riverbed’s Future Of Work global survey, VPN logins and disconnection issues were cited as especially problematic. The disconnection from the corporate network and slow file downloads was two of the most significant problems faced by remote working respondents.
If your remote users are constantly being disconnected from the enterprise every time they try to access file shares over the Internet, they could get irritated or frustrated.
Securing the network infrastructure to support flexible working styles is necessary for businesses that are yet to implement a remote working policy. Hence, while a VPN seems like a secure way to connect multiple remote computers to the network, it is not a sustainable option.
Why Any Cloud Solution Just Won’t Cut It
With cloud computing, data stored in one place can be accessed by anyone regardless of where they are physically located. It also offers scalability, efficiency, and profitability benefits. For these reasons, migrating to the cloud is often an attractive option.
For example, migrating to cloud collaborative platforms SharePoint can be a desirable option. But such migration might not be ideal for businesses with specific data infrastructure, especially those built up over several years and spread across multiple file shares, machines, and locations. The uncertainty of the financial implication makes it cost-prohibitive for SMBs with large data sets.
How Triofox Addresses VPN and Cloud Migration Issues
Triofox is designed to give users remote access to existing file shares. It is a great cloud-enabled file sharing and syncing platform that enables secure access across all devices.
This solution is perfect for businesses that:
Have large data sets spread across multiple servers.
Need to enhance the remote working experience for their staff.
Operate in AEC verticals with remote employees.
Require a long-term and sustainable secure file and collaboration solution.
Below are some more benefits of Triofox:
Cross-Site Collaboration
When working with a team, file locking is essential for preventing versions from being accidentally overwritten or deleted. Most cloud services don’t support CAD files, but with Triofox’s mapped drive, users can access the file locking and version control features to keep track of the changes.
When working offline, files stored in the local cache are encrypted and can automatically be synchronized when the internet connection is restored.
Support for Large Files and Private File Shares
Triofox affords users the option to transfer large files as secure web links. It takes away the redundancy of copying files to an external storage service to collaborate with partners or clients. It can also integrate with Outlook to automatically convert file attachments to links, secure files with data-at-rest encryption, and transfer over SSL.
Always-On, HTTPS-Based Drive Mapping
Users no longer have to worry about being suddenly disconnected from the network, as Triofox’s mapped drive is a constant. It is simple enough that authorized users can connect to the network at any time without help or network interference.
Centralized Control Across Multiple Sites
Triofox syncs data to a global namespace. It provides desktop agents and mobile applications for a complete end-to-end access solution and simplifies the user experience. It maintains data consistency with versioning and integrates directly with Microsoft Active Directory for user and permission management.
Other advantages over VPN include:
● Eliminate network downtime and provide remote access to enterprise file shares from anywhere without a VPN. ● Reduce network spread and reduce corporate risk. Eliminate costly workarounds commonly used by remote users to access their company file server. ● Triofox provides an efficient, discreet, and cost-effective way for your remote workers to work from any location, even off-grid, by offering offline access to cached file server shares. ● Centralizes data that is spread across multiple locations and devices and can serve as a zero trust solution for remote file server access. ● Triofox combines the advantages of DFS, VPN, and cloud storage to provide a private cloud structure, offering better control over cost and security.
To get started on Triofox, sign up for a free trial or schedule a demo.
The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic caught the world by surprise and saw businesses adapting innovative solutions to stay afloat during the worldwide lockdown. Remote work, which was a working perk exclusive to certain positions and job titles, became the only working option for most businesses offering what was considered “non-essential” services. These saw organizations scurrying to adapt the fastest remote working options available to risk sinking in the sudden economic downturn caused by the rapid spread of the flu.
Contrary to the suspicions that remote working would take its toll on businesses because of its perceived lack of structure and solitary nature that contrasted with the connectivity and community that in-office collaboration afforded, remote work has proven to be the future of work.
By now, even with the lockdown ease and rollout of the vaccine, most businesses have realized that remote working is not a passing trend, and they must integrate efficient remote working policies into their business operations. Hence, companies must find and adapt long-term scalable solutions for file sharing and synchronized collaboration between remote teams.
In this article, we will focus on the challenges of working remotely using a VPN in the creative industry and share how organizations can extend remote working long-term for improved performance and security, even without a full cloud migration.
VPN to the Rescue…or Not
VPN was seen as the ultimate quick fix for businesses that wanted their employees to access corporate files without risking security. As a result, its popularity skyrocketed, but the challenges manifested as the months wore on.
Here is a play out of the VPN remote access experience by a previous VPN user:
Company designs ads for impulse buy products.
The workload was multiplied after COVID hit because they deal with online advertising and sales.
An increase in workload led to an increased workforce, doubling data output.
The company was fine with the sales team working over VPN connections, but not so for their designers, who had to frequently access the photo library stored on the file server. The directory listing took too long to load over VPN, delaying search and sorting through thumbnails – they used most of the adobe’s creative cloud software.
Since their photos were all stored in a single photo library (with pictures dating back to 2003) and had several network shares (each 100GB or more), this made work slow and insufferable.
In addition, they could not migrate fully to the cloud because of the heavy media files.
VPN, which provides secure access through its encryption and cloaking features, remains what it is, a temporary fix. Its usage for designers in creative agencies can be off-putting. And slower home network speed, which can be a significant bottleneck for remote teams, is further worsened by the dampening bandwidth effect of a VPN. Using InDesign, remote design teams reported significant slowdowns when connecting to their company’s on-prem file server using VPNs. Still, they had to use it because personal or public networks expose the company to cyber threats and attacks.
Although the needs of businesses vary according to industry and size, irrespective of the differentiating limitations, productivity plunge and employee frustration were shared consequences of VPN usage.
Even though business needs vary by industry and size, VPN use has been linked to decreased productivity and employee dissatisfaction.
Other challenges that could affect operations include:
There is a higher risk of data corruption due to reduced bandwidth and high latency fluctuations.
VPNs lack the granular level of control needed to monitor and control data access.
VPNs are a choice target for hackers, and their successful infiltration affects companies engaging their services, as they have to bear the brunt of data breaches.
If a uniform corporate VPN network is not set up, employees risk exposing company data through the use of public Wi-Fi or unscrupulous VPN vendors hiding under the guise of free or cheap VPN providers. Even when companies incorporate this, a data compliance breach is inevitable when the company’s data is replicated on the servers of third parties during VPN tunneling.
Securely Access and Share Files Without a VPN
Some businesses opt out of complete cloud server migration because the process can be hectic and could lead to significant workflow disruption when migrating. Large file size, long path names, windows character limitations, and numbers of files per folder (files have to be reorganized to prevent sync issues) are only a few issues affecting cloud migration and sync. And fixing those limitations is resource-intensive.
Also, most cloud services do not support essential windows server security features such as file locking and permission control. For instance, Adobe Creative Cloud still doesn’t support control permissions for contributors (the horror of having hours’ worth of work overwritten by a two-second update). As explained by a representative, “Currently shared libraries are always writable by all participants.”
Since server-side edits aren’t supported, the best bet is for designers to work from their local devices and upload to central storage when done. However, for organizations that rely on PSD and heavy media files, a cloud-based environment is sorely expensive.
Businesses in similar situations (firms who choose to keep their on-premises file servers) can take advantage of Triofox. This hybrid cloud server solution enhances the functionalities of file servers by adding mobility, data sharing, and security capabilities. Triofox server solution allows secure remote file access without a VPN.
Benefits of Triofox Hybrid Cloud Server Solution
Businesses can improve the performance and productivity of their staff with corporate data never leaving the server. This is possible as Triofox compliments the security of file servers with the flexibility of cloud storage. Outlined below are other benefits of deploying the Triofox server solution as a VPN alternative:
Organizations no longer have to sacrifice security for accessibility or vice versa as Triofox offers the best of both worlds by enhancing the existing file servers with mobile file accessibility and easy file sharing solutions.
Organizations can improve the work-from-home experience for their employees by removing VPN bottlenecks.
Secure remote access to on-premise file servers eliminates the need for engaging third-party VPN vendors, greatly reducing the risk of a data breach.
Triofox secure file sharing solutions make it easy to share large files and collaborate with teams, partners, and clients.
Users can easily adapt the Triofox solution because it offers a similar mapped-drive experience, so there’s no disruption to the workflow after deployment.
As a VPN alternative, Triofox fixes the scalability, performance, and security issues while providing management features and security tools.
To get started on Triofox, sign up for a free trial or schedule a demo.
Any organization’s most valuable asset is its information because it is integral to decision-making, forecasting, and resource allocation. And the more accurate, timely, and consistent information is to business operations, the better one can respond to changing customer needs. Hence, constant and effective data sharing is the key to business success. However, for some verticals, sharing files between different networks is a challenge.
Sharing files across multiple networks can present some bottlenecks, and the costs and difficulties involved in setting up the necessary infrastructure can make this process time-consuming, inefficient, and expensive.
The primary goal of this article is to help businesses understand how Triofox can protect their valuable data and share it across distributed networks to work more efficiently.
Data Sharing Between Isolated Networks Made Easy
Users can quickly share data among themselves and external business partners for collaborative work in today’s digital world. As a result, data is a vital aspect in enhancing performance and productivity, regardless of the type of business. As an enterprise, however, ensuring that data is transmitted securely can be difficult.
In an environment where the business data is located on isolated networks, there should be an easy way to share files securely and efficiently across them. But that is not always the case. Here is a real-life scenario:
An agency operating in different locations needed an easy way to move exported data to other networks. They accumulated several GB per day of emails with their workflow and required a solution accessible to 100-200 users. However, they used the manual approach to data sharing. Employees from other networks had to upload data from the virtual machines in their lab environments to cloud applications to make them accessible to other employees. Currently, they use Accellion to copy the files between networks manually. Both processes proved challenging as they have about 5 TB of information, and on some occasions, large files failed to transfer. Matter-of-fact, they had several situations where the files did fail (smaller than 100GB).
Gladinet’s Triofox solution makes data sharing straightforward. Unlike the existing means of file sharing, it eliminates those extra steps where users have to copy data into an external cloud solution. Instead, users can quickly turn a folder into a web-facing folder, accessible to users on other networks via a mapped drive.
The way out is to deploy Triofox on one network, and have other networks connected to the desired folders using its mapped drive.
Cost-Effective Alternative to Datto BCDR Appliance for Small Business Customers
Businesses can also benefit from Triofox’s scalable cloud backup and disaster recovery solution, which has a lower total cost of ownership, more flexibility, and, of course, security. For many firms, integrating disaster recovery and backup services is essential. In addition, customizing services to meet your company’s demands fosters trust and can help decide its profitability.
Because cost might deter using cloud services, consolidating different cloud services products for efficiency could be a game-changer. Many firms fail to establish an adequate backup plan for business continuity and disasters because the cost is a decisive issue for them when picking a backup solution.
Our BCDR strategy combines on-premises capabilities with cloud-based storage to preserve data for clients’ business needs and make it accessible whenever and wherever they are needed. Triofox accomplished this using version control to the files, and it keeps snapshots and full logs of file modifications.
Triofox’s sync and share feature turn on-premises file servers into private file sharing servers and a centralized data repository as files are stored at multiple locations on different devices. Hence, they act as backups, and previous versions can easily be restored.
Simplified Access & Management
Businesses need a simple product to deploy and manage while providing a simplified data-sharing experience across networks or geographies to increase productivity and improve efficiency.
Dispersed teams have created a demand for a more efficient data-sharing solution that utilizes existing infrastructure to efficiently distribute information among a broad set of data partners. Some solutions are so complex that users have to reach out to the IT department to share large files or specific file formats, increasing employee frustration and reducing productivity.
Secure File Sharing for External Collaboration
Compliance problems arise when businesses entrust their data to third-party cloud services during file sharing. Not only do they open themselves up to lawsuits, but they also risk leaking vital information to big players. However, with Triofox, businesses gain the flexibility of a public consumer cloud service without compromising control over corporate data. Its key features are mobility, ease of access, and security.
Triofox provides advanced drive mapping technology in its solution. It is the perfect option for businesses with security concerns about using external cloud storage for sensitive information. The mapped drive provides:
Endpoint encryption.
On-demand synchronization.
Local file caching.
Binary differential uploads.
Other optimizations for files and folders to be accessed over the Internet.
Triofox offers centralized control over data permissions and updates, missing when end-users engage external cloud storage services like Dropbox.
In all, Triofox offers a holistic solution to corporate data sharing and proactive backup services for disaster recovery.
To learn more about how Triofox can better suit your organization’s needs, request a demo
The most pressing issue facing businesses today can be summed up in a single word: data. A major issue is the lack of control over where data is stored and how it is used. Data sharing must be done in a transparent and barrier-free manner. For some businesses, this means entrusting third-party providers with the management and security of their cloud files. However, it is common knowledge that using public cloud services to share company data is a high-risk activity due to GDPR violations, data loss, and cyber-criminal vulnerability.
Varonis DatAnywhere was popular enterprise sync and share solution for a long time since it offered a simple, cost-effective alternative to public cloud-based file-sharing services. However, since it has reached its end of life (EOL), you are putting your business at risk if you are still using their service. “New updates and upgrades will not be published, and new platforms (such as new versions of IOS, Android, Windows, and so on) will not be supported,” according to them. After February 28, 2020, DatAnywhere support services will be discontinued.” Triofox offers the same secure private file sharing experience with support guaranteed to give you a good run for your money.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the most common data-sharing concerns and why the Triofox server solution is the best way to turn your corporate infrastructure into a secure private cloud-like platform for secure remote access and collaboration.
The Need for Secure File Sharing
Dropbox has become a popular cloud storage platform in recent years. Its most notable advantage is the ease with which you may share files with your team and external business partners. However, the way Dropbox is used in corporate situations poses some security concerns. For example, data can be very sensitive for a construction company. The remote collaboration will sometimes require sharing vital organizational information such as contracts, blueprints, field photos, videos, etc. Hackers or unscrupulous competitors can intercept the right tools. This is why it is essential to make sure your data is safe.
Businesses have reported millions of dollars in lost revenue and productivity because of the recent data breaches, and the material damage continues. This can be devastating for an organization. Though the commercial impact of a data breach varies greatly depending on the size of the company and the industry in question, the effect that can range from a decline in revenue, decreased productivity, and financial ruin can significantly impact a business.
Why Triofox Is a Better Alternative to DatAnywhere
As they most often operate in different locations, construction companies can’t run their operations optimally without a system that provides employees with the proper flow of information and allows them to share and store documents in real-time. Also, the need to share documents with clients or partners requires the share functionalities of cloud storage. Triofox solves the challenges of transferring data securely across geographies while minimizing costs, complexity, and errors – whether human error or hardware.
Triofox addresses these problems by providing a safe and collaborative working environment to store files in one place. It is a cross-platform team collaboration solution that offers efficient and secure enterprise file sync and share services without the risk of data exposure. Its solution makes it easy for people to work wherever and whenever they need to, and without the fear that their sensitive data will wind up in the wrong hands. Beyond the safety and ease of use factors, Triofox provides real-time backup and recovery in case of disaster.
A real-life examination of a construction company whose needs are aligned with the Triofox solution is outlined below. If your firm can relate to the majority of the pain areas, Triofox could be the ideal solution for you.
Construction Company with over 30TB data and a distributed team spread across four (4) branches.
Due to the sensitive nature of the business, prefers to keep data on private file servers
Wants more control than Dropbox offers; wants to keep control of data even after it has been copied to Dropbox for sharing.
The constant fear of data falling into the wrong hands, plus the fact that engaging Dropbox violates data compliance policies.
Considering cloud migration but doesn’t have time or resources to deal with migration complexities.
Needs a solution that users can quickly implement and manage; file-sharing shouldn’t require the specialty of a tech person.
Needs a partner that will help with initial setup and configuration and ongoing support.
Benefits of Triofox Server Solution
Similar to Datanywhere, Triofox extends the file-sharing functionality of existing windows file shares, making them accessible over the web. Matter-of-fact, file sharing can be as easy as sending a link. It provides a mapped drive, where users can quickly access file shares.
By deploying a self-hosted version of Triofox, you can ensure data security and control while improving the performance and productivity of the users. Listed below are the benefits of deploying the Triofox server solution:
Triofox eradicates the issues that come with employing external cloud services for collaboration as its solution is built on existing file server infrastructure to extend its functionalities.
Its AD & NTFS Integration features ensure seamless technology adaptation to prevent lost productivity, which can cost your business a lot of money.
It is cost-effective as the solution requires little to minimal training; Users can easily adapt since it provides a familiar working experience.
Allow businesses to maintain data governance and control for policy compliance and privacy of client’s information.
It offers more control than Dropbox. Triofox provides centralized access controls, audit tracking, and report features, giving you autonomous control over your data.
It offers simplified management and user experience
The solution keeps data on private file shares
It has remote device wipes and encryption to reduce device vulnerabilities.
To learn more about how Triofox can better suit your organization’s needs, request a demo
With the growth of work-from-home employees, remote file sharing has become more important than ever. Most organizations employ some sort of external file sharing solution, but all employees must know how to share folders and files safely and securely.
Sharing links that require no authentication may be convenient and useful in many situations, especially when you are sharing read-only files with external users. However, not all content is appropriate for unauthenticated sharing. It is important to put safeguards in place to help protect the organization’s confidential content and make it easy for authorized employees to access.
For these reasons, your organization needs to establish and adhere to a set of best practices for external file sharing.
Why External File Sharing is Essential to Your Business
If your business has employees working from home or on the road, they need to be able to access the same files and documents that they would if they were working on-premises. It is also necessary to share some files — typically on a read-only basis — with clients, vendors, and other external users.
This type of enterprise file sharing results in important benefits to your employees and your company, including:
Increased productivity, especially for remote workers
Enhanced collaboration between employees in different locations
Ability to securely share files with important clients
Easier to keep track of users, files, and data storage
Challenges of External File Sharing
Challenges of external file sharing
External file sharing is not without its challenges. When implementing an external file sharing solution, you need to be aware of the following:
Remote workers need real-time access from any location and any type of device
Employees need to be able to quickly and easily locate specific files and content (according to M-Files, 86% of employees say they have difficulties searching for the files they need)
Certain files need to be accessible by clients, vendors, and other third parties
Sensitive files need to be secured from unauthorized access
Fortunately, all of these challenges can be met by following a set of established file-sharing best practices.
10 Best Practices for External File Sharing
When your organization opts for an external file sharing solution, it is essential to follow all industry best practices to make this file sharing both easy to do and secure. You want only your employees and designated third parties accessing your shared files – which means all concerned need to be aware of and observe these best practices.
Plan the File Structure
Before you begin file sharing, you need to plan the file structure. You want an orderly, logical, and hierarchical series of folders so that users easily figure out what goes where. This file structure delineates between which files can be shared externally and which can’t.
Follow these best practices when planning your organization’s file structure:
Create two top-level folders, one for external sharing and the other for internal sharing only
Keep all sensitive documents within a specific master folder so that permissions can be applied at the top level
Put all compliance-related documents within a specific master folder
Don’t go too deep with subfolders; keep the number of levels no more than five deep
Be consistent with your file structure and don’t allow individuals to make exceptions
Document your file structure strategy so future managers and staff will know the logic behind what you did
Use Consistent Naming Conventions
Your carefully-planned file structure should be paired with effective conventions for naming your files. Folder names should be clear, descriptive, and consistent. Users should be encouraged to follow similar naming conventions for the files they create and be strongly discouraged against creating inconsistent file names.
Follow these best practices when establishing your organization’s file naming conventions:
Use folder names that reflect their content or function; don’t use generic names such as FOLDER01
Folder and file names should be descriptive
Folder and file names should meaningful to anyone accessing the content
Consider a naming convention that includes whether the file is for internal or external use, the department or unit involved, the name of the document, the date of creation, and the current version. For example: internal_department_name_date_version
Discourage the use of overly-long names
Encourage the use of terms that are commonly used throughout your organization
Mandate consistency in file names and don’t allow exceptions
Employ Collaboration Options
Today’s work environment is becoming increasingly collaborative, with documents passed around and shared by multiple team members. Common best practices to follow for collaborating on shared documents include:
Encourage employees to take advantage of all available collaboration options, such as notifications, comments, approvals, and versioning.
Employees should opt to “follow” documents so they’ll know when the documents are updated
All sharing should take place online, via the browser, not offline
Utilize Versioning
You should configure your file sharing service or software tools to automatically manage the various versions of all documents. Employees need to be assured that they’re always working on the latest versions of their documents, especially in group projects. (This is another reason to discourage or prohibit employees working with offline versions of files.)
Limit Access to Files
Access to all files should be limited to those employees who need access. Not everyone needs universal access to all documents. Employ the Zero Trust model, where no individual has automatic access to valuable data. Limit access only to those employees working on those specific files.
To that end, consider using tiered access, where some employees have write/edit access, some have read-only access, and some are denied access to specific files. Determine levels of access to ensure that files can’t be accessed by individuals without proper authorization.
Setting permission levels is also important when you allow clients, vendors, and others outside the company to access specific files. When dealing with external file sharing, it often makes sense to enable read-only access for outsiders.
Maintain Data Security
Data security needs to be at the forefront of all of your file-sharing activities. You want your data to be secure from theft or other unauthorized access. If your systems are breached, you want your data to remain off-limits to intruders.
Follow these best practices to enhance your organization’s data security:
Encrypt all stored data
Use end-to-end encryption when sharing, uploading, or downloading files
Discourage or prohibit file sharing via email
Discourage or disable file downloading
Password protect all files that are shared externally
Develop Retention Policies
Documents should not be kept any longer than necessary. Some documents need to be kept for legal, compliance, or historical reasons, but most files used in your organization have a much shorter shelf life. It’s important to cull unnecessary files to both minimize your data storage costs and simplify the search for truly necessary documents. (According to Varonis, 70% of files on file-sharing services are never shared.)
As such, you need to develop detailed retention policies for all files created within or shared with your organization. Here are some best practices to follow:
Follow all industry and governmental rules and regulations for how long you need to retain documents
Require employees to set expiration dates for all external and public file links
Organize in a common folder all documents that pertain to similar retention or compliance rules
Discourage or prohibit offline copies of documents
Set rules to automatically delete all files past a certain age in non-protected folders
Remind employees regularly to delete all unnecessary files
Regularly Audit File Access
It’s essential to know which files are being accessed, how, and by whom. That means regularly monitoring access to shared files – especially those that contain sensitive or confidential information. Follow these best practices:
Managers or team leaders should subscribe to notifications when critical files are accessed
IT staff should conduct periodic audits of key files to see who has accessed them
Access to critical files should be periodically reevaluated
Educate Your Users
Finally, you need to educate your employees on the importance of data security and essential file-sharing operations. They need to know everything about external file sharing, from how to share a folder online to how to share files safely and securely. Equally important, they need to know what they shouldn’t share externally, and why. The most secure file sharing solution is only as strong as the employees using it. Make sure your employees are trained on the proper techniques – and check in on them periodically to ensure they’re following your designated best practices.
Turn to Triofox for Secure File Sharing
Triofox enables secure file sharing and collaboration for both employees and external users, according to the best practices presented above. Users can set an expiration time on public links, make content read-only, disable downloading, password-protect shared content, and subscribe to change notifications. When you need an easier-to-use, more secure external file sharing solution, turn to Triofox.
Contact us today to learn more about Triofox’s secure file sharing solution.
