“We live in a world where information equals power. With the influx of online file-sharing solutions, distributing information has become easier than ever. As a result, it is now easier for information to fall into the wrong hands intentionally or unintentionally.” -Terri McClure TechTarget.
Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies and an increasingly mobile workforce are putting new pressures on IT and changing the requirements for how workers want (and need) to access corporate data.
Dropbox has become the predominant leader for mobile file access. Unfortunately, what works for family pictures does not work with corporate files. In most cases, Dropbox’s quick to install, easy-to-use, consumer-grade services present unacceptable security, legal and business risk in a business environment.
Here are the top 5 reasons we now recommend only SensibleSync for businesses .
- Data Theft. Business owners are simply unaware when an instance of Dropbox is installed and are unable to control which employee devices can or cannot sync with a corporate PC. Use of Dropbox can exponentially increase the chance of data being stolen or shared with the wrong parties.
- Data Loss. When managers cannot manage and monitor file sync activities across an organisation, they risk losing critical data. Any employee may adopt Dropbox and starts using it to sync and share sensitive files without proper oversight. You cannot manage data sprawl, initiate remote wipes in the case of lost devices, and are unable to guarantee that files are properly shared with only the right people.
- Lawsuits. Dropbox gives carte blanche power to employees over the ability to permanently delete and share files. This can result in the permanent loss of critical business documents as well as the sharing of confidential information, which can break privacy agreements in place with clients and third parties.
- Compliance Violations. Many compliance policies require that files be held for a specific time and only be accessed by certain people (or have to stay in Australia). In these cases, it is imperative to employ strict control over how long files are kept and who can access them. Since Dropbox has loose (or non-existent) file retention and file access controls, businesses that use Dropbox are risking a compliance violation. (Dropbox doesn’t disclose where its data is stored).
- Loss of Accountability. Managers whose employees use Dropbox do not have access to detailed reports and alerts over system-level activity. As a result managers don’t have control of or visibility into how files have been edited, shared, or deleted. Business-grade, admin-controlled file sync services allow managers to view a comprehensive audit trail that details who touched or modified a file at any given point and even restrict which devices can be used.
- Loss of File Access. Dropbox does not track which users and machines touched a file and at which times. This can be a big problem if you are trying to determine the events leading up to a file creation, modification, or deletion. The best way for business to handle this is to deploy a company-approved application that will allow IT to control the data, yet grants employees the access and functionality they need to be productive wherever they are. Employees whose companies provide them with a secure, easy-to-use file sync service will see no need to bring Dropbox into the workplace.
- Productivity Losses. Businesses need to be as productive as possible. Consumer-grade file sync services do not enable corporate file servers to be synced to the cloud. Users have to double-handle files they need to share (from central server into/out of dropbox) or they have to use cumbersome VPN methods or even work on the wrong version of a document. By deploying SensibleSync, managers can authorise network documents to be automatically synced for both Head Office and remote workers.
If you would like more information on SensibleSync :
Phone: 1300-SENSIBLE (736-742)
Web: www.sensiblesync.com
