EXP Now Offers Egnyte Cloud Storage

EXP now offers a cloud storage product called Egnyte.

Egnyte does nothing but cloud storage and it does it well. We only resell their business product since it supports advanced security and have found Egnyte to work well for organizations that use typical office documents and PDFs. It’s not appropriate for CAD, GIS, or other large files.

We have been impressed with this product during our initial testing, and prior to getting behind it we looked at it under the following lenses:

Ease of Use

Egnyte works well in several methodologies from web-only access to mapped drive. The most appropriate for many businesses, in our opinion, is Egnyte Connect, which uses a mapped drive. After installation, the client software maps a “Z:” drive that connects directly to the cloud repository. This allows users to access files from anywhere but most effectively from their laptop or desktop with the client installed. Files can also be checked out and stored locally for travel or other needs. In every instance, client installation was painless.

Hybrid Support (Cloud & Local Storage)

 Egnyte supports two hybrid modes:

1. Storage Sync replicates your cloud files to a local storage device (that needs to be a Virtual Machine). This method does not support file locking so is realistically only a disaster recovery methodology. However, if your internet is down, you can still work by accessing the local repository.
2. Turbo syncs the cloud repository to a local repository (that needs to be a Virtual Machine). The client software can sense if the user is working on the network or remotely, and then seamlessly connect to a local device or the cloud. Turbo supports file locking, but an internet connection is required at all times.

You get one of the above as part of the business subscription but can combine both at additional cost.

Mobile Access

The Egnyte mobile app is excellent; it allows file sharing and direct document editing.

Integration & Interoperability

Egnyte has a plethora of integrations including:

• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Teams
• Salesforce
• G Suite

Sharing

Sharing is simple with Egnyte. You can easily create “passwordless” secure links that can be emailed directly from the Outlook client, and then set to expire after a period of time chosen by the user.

Security

The business package includes such advanced security options as:

• Tier II SSAE-16 Compliant Facility Storage
• 256-bit AES encryption
• Advanced Authentication
• Multi-factor Authentication
• Centralized Device Management
• Passcode Enforcement for Mobile Devices
• Trusted Device
• Multi-factor Authentication Enforcement
• Remote Wipe
• Native Mobile Device Control
• Restrict Offline Access

The Enterprise version supports “bring your own encryption,” which is ideal for highly compliant industries such as healthcare, government, and defense. This ensures that only people within your organization can access the files.

So far, we are very impressed with Egnyte – especially for highly-compliant environments. It is ideal for small professional firms that are moving from local storage to the cloud, and which do not use CAD. The product makes it easy and convenient to securely access files from work, home, hotel, and mobile devices.

If you have questions about whether Egnyte is right for your business, contact us for more information.