File synchronization is quickly emerging as a foundational technology in the enterprise thanks mainly to the simultaneous rise of mobile and cloud computing.
What started out as a tool for end users to share files using services such as Dropbox.com is now being included in any number of enterprise applications. But as positive a development as that may be, there is still a challenge when files need to be shared across multiple application environments.
To address that issue, Egnyte today unfurled EgnytePlus, a file-sharing tool that works across multiple types of storage systems and cloud services.
According to Egnyte CEO Vineet Jain, file sharing within a single application environment simply isn’t going to meet the needs of most enterprise IT organizations. Not only do organizations need a file synchronization capability that works across multiple applications, they need one that allows them to store files as close to where any end user is at any given moment.
The simple fact is that in the age of mobile computing, an end user might be in New York one day and Mumbai the next. EgnytePlus, says Jain, allows organizations to store files in data centers that are close to where that user is at any time in order to reduce latency and network bandwidth consumption, while at the same time enabling IT to apply a consistent set of auditable polices relating to who can access what files at any given time.
As file synchronization continues to evolve, it is pretty clear that this capability is going to be used to enable new classes of business processes and workflows that will extend far beyond the four walls of any given enterprise. Just as importantly, most of the workflow enabled by file synchronization will be ad hoc in nature, meaning the day when documents and files revolved around a single repository such as Microsoft SharePoint are coming to a close.
The challenge facing IT organizations now is how to provide a measure of control on top of those workflow processes without getting in the way of the people who are finding new ways to create value for the business.
