Jan 20, 2015

Today’s employees are more mobile than ever before, performing business tasks from the office, their houses, while traveling and from nearly any location in between. To provide these staff members with the appropriate resources, businesses across a range of industries have been leveraging online file storage, allowing mobile workers access to critical documents from wherever they may be operating.

However, there are several factors that must be considered before a company can select the best online file storage solution. The market currently has a significant number of systems to choose from, but by following a few best practices, administrators can be confident that their chosen online file storage platform will meet their needs now, and into the future.

TechTarget noted that one of the essential characteristics to weigh is the security features that come with the service. There are a number of consumer-level file storage systems available, but the majority of these do not provide the staunch protection measures to properly safeguard sensitive business data. For this reason, decision-makers should look for a solution that provides mobile access control and also encrypts files.

“First find out which features come with which service,” the source recommended. “It’s also critical that you read the provider’s policies because each service has different rules about its ability to access files stored on their servers.”

Another main factor is the cost of the system. Street Directory contributor Timothy Rudon suggested that administrators come to the table with an idea of how much storage they will need as well as their target budget. This will make negotiations with the vendor much easier. It is also helpful to consider not only the amount of storage space the organization currently requirements, but to also factor in scalability and room for future growth.

Rudon also noted that is important to seek as much details as possible about the provider’s technology infrastructure. A service that is down frequently won’t be very beneficial to the company. Ensuring that resources will be available and employees can archive files as needed is essential to the success of online file storage system deployment.