One shadow IT trend that IT organizations often find annoying is when users invoke file synchronization and share services in the cloud without IT approval. Truth be told, however, most end users invoke that service because the internal IT organization doesn’t offer much in the way of an alternative option.
To help IT organizations address this issue, AeroFS created file and synchronization software that can be deployed inside a private cloud. Now, AeroFS is making its cloud collaboration software available for free to IT organizations with fewer than 30 users.
AeroFS CEO Yuri Sagalov says the company wants to remove the friction associated with deploying software in the enterprise. Instead of having to navigate a complex purchasing process for which they have to gain approval, Sagalov says internal IT organizations can first download a free version. When the time comes that AeroFS needs to be more widely deployed, then at least the internal IT organization will already be fairly familiar with how AeroFS works, says Sagalov. This will also give IT leverage in proving that the solution works and won’t cause issues when they do have to ask for funds to purchase software.
While a number of vendors have bundled versions of file synchronization and share software with storage systems, Sagalov says AeroFS is designed to work across multiple storage systems.
File synchronization and share applications delivered via the cloud are always going to have a certain level of appeal to end users. But for organizations that need an internal file synchronization and share capability that they can manage themselves, there aren’t as many alternatives.