File sharing: strategy sought

The solution to the problem is nothing less than a comprehensive enterprise file sharing strategy that not only addresses security concerns but also integrates with key business applications to improve business efficiency. Many companies are already tightening the reins because of increased risks to their security and are beginning to more closely monitor employee activity and the movement of their data. The limitations of email and FTP are, of course, well known to employees who need to share data frequently, and they are often carelessly bypassed in everyday office life by free cloud solutions. However, because these offerings are not secure and therefore not sustainable for an organization, IT must step in and provide more effective services.

Email and FTP are insecure, outdated technologies
The SMTP protocol used in the background to send attachments was actually never developed for this purpose. The complications with email are, as it were, innate and manifest themselves, on the one hand, in a limited size of the files to be transferred. For another, it simply lacks numerous important features, such as guaranteed delivery, checkpoint/restart, tracking, and auditability. Email storage and disaster recovery are also not up to snuff with email, as is a lack of virus scanning and domain blacklisting and whitelisting. Scaling to handle large attachments, especially when sending to multiple recipients in parallel, is also not guaranteed with email, and the high consumption of system resources (network bandwidth, memory, processor, transactions and storage) puts a strain on the infrastructure and causes slow response times.
To get around the file size limitations of email, many companies started using legacy solutions such as FTP servers. However, this outdated technology does not provide adequate protection mechanisms or centralized visibility into all transactions. Nor do they provide a single, integrated solution for all internal and external file transfers. FTP becomes completely useless if the transfer of data is to be part of an internal process over several stages.
Organizations are beginning to realize that the technological limitations of their existing solutions for sharing files, primarily email and FTP, pose security risks and create organizational overhead. At the same time, as compliance and regulatory requirements become more important, organizations are looking for new file transfer technologies. But what does a future strategy for file sharing look like?

Data exchange strategy
Companies that continue to rely on outdated solutions are vulnerable to hacker attacks of all kinds. In the worst case, it is even possible for employees to become liable to prosecution, for example in the case of unauthorized disclosure of internal company data via external cloud solutions. The IT department also becomes vulnerable, as no data is collected for audits and the effort required to provide such data would be enormous if the worst came to the worst. To implement a new strategy, top management must work with IT managers and decide together which solution is best. The market for enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) solutions has been developing rapidly for a few years. However, very few products combine the required features to provide full security with high flexibility. When looking for a suitable solution, one should pay attention to some important factors.
It is important that an EFSS solution is user-friendly: integration with existing solutions such as email does not change much for employees, but files are sent in the background via MFT.

Not all file sharing solutions are equal
Companies and their IT departments are responsible for providing employees with easy-to-use and secure tools to ensure day-to-day data exchange is secure. So what needs to be considered when looking for the right solution? The solution must:

1. be able to adapt to company-specific factors.
2. grant the company full sovereignty over the security settings.
3. leave the sovereignty of the data with the company
4. be able to ensure full control of standards with legal specifications.
5. give opportunities for audits and control.
6. offer deployment options on-premise, in the cloud or as a hybrid
7. offer integration with existing enterprise applications via numerous APIs

With these functions, an EFSS solution meets current requirements. Not only can the sharing of sensitive data and the protection of intellectual property be controlled, but workflows are also simplified, efficiency is increased, and BYOD (bring your own device) projects are easily implemented.

Executives and IT managers have a responsibility to protect their companies' sensitive data and intellectual property. The highest possible security measures must be put in place for file transfers. Equally important is full visibility into all transfers with the ability to pull far-reaching reports on each transfer. IT admins must be able to revoke former employees' access to files and block access via lost devices.

Text: Subhashini Simha, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Thru