Jan 31, 2014

Creating better collaboration processes has become a priority for many organizations as more look for ways to maximize benefits and improve the bottom line. File sharing solutions have emerged to fill this role and offer users a more convenient way of accessing mission-critical resources. As the technology advances, other innovations like the cloud have been incorporated to keep the services up-to-date and ensure that businesses have the tools they need to continue developing.

Sharing files through online programs has often been a concern for many companies, but the services have become more viable for work use with the emergence of enterprise-grade tools. StateTech Magazine contributor David Hutchins noted that although many IT professionals recognize the presence of rogue file sharing within their organization, there is a variety of choices that will allow decision makers to pick asolution that meets everyone’s needs. If important information goes missing on a worker’s device that is not being monitored appropriately, there could be significant consequences to the company’s profitability and reputation. This scenario is becoming far too common in many workplaces, but with a cloud-based online file sharing platform, management will have better oversight into the location of their assets and be able to handle personal devices.

“As cloud computing models continue to gain popularity, IT departments will find that their work focuses less on providing tools and more on ensuring data governance and enhancing data security,” Hutchins wrote. “Exploring cloud-based storage and file-sharing services is just another step in that transition.”

Building a secure cloud sharing system
Consumer-geared cloud and file sharing services have traditionally been causes for security issues among businesses, but advancing features and better security measures are poised to change that. As more employees look to sharing business files as a means for better collaboration, it will be important to create safety protocols that will support these demands. DarkReading contributor Robert Lemos stated that creating systems that will provide insightful data, anomaly alerts, pervasive encryption and clear security responsibilities will help ensure that company assets are protected. By observing these best practices, employees will understand what to expect and management will have enhanced oversight into the location of the data at all times.

“We need to make that the default standard practice, that there is a certain amount of logging information that is available proactively for all the different analytics that companies need to track,” Jim Reavis, CEO of the Cloud Security Alliance, told the source. “A big sore spot has been log file information, and that has been a sticking point.”