Enterprise file sharing, or enterprise file sync and sharing (EFSS), can help secure your documents and data when shared throughout your company.
What Are Types of File Sharing?
Different types of file sharing include the following:
- File Transfer Protocol (FTP): access data via login
- Online file sharing: can be free or paid
- Removable storage: memory sticks or cards
- Peer-to-Peer Network: IM services
Enterprise file sharing is also known as enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) or enterprise file syncing and sharing. It facilitates a collaborative process that allows an organization to share data and document contents securely (in one place) with stakeholders.
What Is EFSS Used For?
As a process, EFSS also allows organizations to easily and seamlessly transfer files across locations as a way to allow people to work on the document together while ensuring document security. In addition, it has emerged as an important collaboration tool that enables the sharing of documents across various devices, with the ability to synchronize changes across the platforms, devices, and channels used.
EFSS includes on-premises storage, cloud storage, or a hybrid approach. However, the overriding rule, irrespective of where it’s stored, is that data remains in a company’s own data repository. Moreover, EFSS incorporates synchronization on the back-end server to update data across devices.
Therefore, EFSS allows employees to remain productive on the move, without being tethered to the single location where a document is stored. EFSS also allows organizations to maintain security standards and compliance regulations.
What Are the Risks Associated with File Sharing?
There are risks associated with file sharing. Without EFSS, a business is exposed to the following:
- Potential hacking
- Data breaches
- Malware infection
- Accidental leakage of sensitive information
- Identity theft
Before EFSS existed, there were traditional tools like Dropbox and Google Drive. While these cloud platforms provided the basic features that made sharing and file syncing possible, they were mainly consumer products.
On the other hand, EFSS addresses the peculiar needs of corporate organizations, especially regarding compliance with regulatory standards mandated by their industry. EFSS has become more critical as businesses rely on a remote and mobile workforce, including the multiplicity of devices used by vendors, partners, and employees to access documents.
Key Features & Capabilities of EFSS Applications
In addition to providing data protection solutions through continuous monitoring of granular file movement, EFSS also offers the following features and capabilities.
- Critical storage security: EFSS uses data loss prevention, file scanning, and encryption mechanisms that enhance security while detecting data breaches and exfiltration transmissions. Other security protocols include authentication procedures, identity access management to govern who can access documents, and key tracking features.
- Consistency and visibility of data access: EFSS gives organizations visibility especially when it comes to confidential file transfers where sensitive data is at stake. In addition to offering transparency into individuals accessing documents, EFSS also syncs data across devices and platforms to ensure everyone has access to the latest data update.
- Crucial administrative processes: In addition to data storage and sharing, EFSS solutions also provide necessary procedures such as backup and recovery processes. They also have automation features like scheduling file transfers, so you don’t have to manually move data yourself.
- Workflow capabilities: EFSS solutions incorporate workflow features that allow permissions to create documents, edit documents, add comments, and track file versions.
- Support for unique file extensions and large file transfers: Enterprises often have to share and deal with files of substantial size. EFSS allows them to transfer huge file sizes that would have been onerous on traditional file-sharing systems. It also accommodates unique file types with peculiar file extensions.
Regulatory compliance and reporting: Most industries, especially those operating in healthcare, finance, and certain manufacturing areas like pharmaceuticals, have regulatory standards they need to comply with, such as HIPAA, GDPR, SOX, and PCI DSS.
EFSS features reporting tools that showcase to regulators and auditors that your organization is adhering to data-related standards.
What Are the Benefits of EFSS?
As its name implies, EFSS is mainly comprised of filing sharing platforms with enterprise-grade capabilities.
High availability
EFSS invariably involves storing documents in a secured central repository, usually the cloud. The cloud provides anywhere accessibility, so employees are no longer limited to a single location or device.
Robust security
Enterprises with confidential information and intellectual property to protect can’t rely on unsecured file sharing. EFSS provides a reliable way to keep business data secure. It deploys encryption in transit, authentication, containerization, access permissions, and data loss prevention to boost security and increase confidence that shared documents are safeguarded.
Improved performance
The volume and velocity of digital media produced in the digital age continue to increase. Likewise, the number of employees, customers, and vendors accessing these documents continues to compound.
EFSS helps to manage file sharing at scale, with the ability to sync and secure thousands of business documents among innumerable devices. Hence, with its capacity to scale well, EFSS not only accommodates your present requirements but your future needs as well. Moreover, EFSS ensures that this large cache of documents is simultaneously accessible without any degradation of performance, and it has no discernable latency with user experience.
Regulatory compliance and governance
Most businesses need to keep detailed records while monitoring and establishing compliance. EFSS solutions are necessary, for example, when sharing personally identifiable information among doctors and medical practitioners with patients. EFSS provides extensive audit trails to prove compliance with requirements such as HIPAA. It also traces whether sensitive files have been accidentally or maliciously deleted.
Hence, one of the important benefits of an EFSS solution is helping organizations reduce the risk of statutory noncompliance.
Ease of use
The popularity and proliferation of EFSS solutions are in part due to their simplicity. Employees only have to be moderately tech-savvy to use these solutions. In addition, EFSS provides built-in file creation, previewing, and editing capabilities that enhance its range of use cases.
