In today's connected world, people have come to expect access to files the moment they need them in order to be productive.
That was the message from the Citrix Synergy 2014 Conference in Anaheim, Los Angeles, where Citrix unveiled new features for its file-sharing platform - ShareFile.
Other similar services on the market include Box, Dropbox, Egnyte, Citrix ShareFile and OwnCloud. Gartner analyst Jeffrey Mann notes that concerns about DropBox security is driving interest in products like Box, Egnyte, Yousendit, Sharefile, Syncplicity, Accellion and many, many others.
According to a recent study by Enterprise Strategy Group, more than two-thirds of IT professionals using pure cloud-based online file storage are extremely interested in storing some or all data on-premises.
"Our research indicates that there is increasing demand for alternatives to the 'one-size-fits-all,' cloud-based approach," says Terri McClure, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "This demand is driven by both security concerns and a desire to leverage existing on-premises IT investments."
Citrix says ShareFile provides users with one place to access and edit files stored on-premises and in the cloud from their mobile devices, improving productivity through a secure mobile workspace.
It adds that the new features give users the ability to access and edit files from multiple data sources on their mobile devices and businesses more control over their data encryption keys, resulting in increased productivity and security.
In a statement, the company explains that data within today's businesses lives in a range of places that are not easily accessible outside of corporate networks or from mobile devices. It adds that ShareFile StorageZone Connectors help businesses by establishing direct and secure mobile access to data in its original location behind the corporate firewall.
According to the company, connectors for Microsoft SharePoint and network shares are already used by thousands of companies since launching at Citrix Synergy last year.
New ShareFile Personal Cloud Connectors allow users to access their Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive accounts from ShareFile.
Citrix notes that it provides enterprises with the flexibility to determine how and where users store files.
With most cloud file sharing services, says Citrix, files are encrypted but businesses don't hold the key. Their service provider does, it adds, pointing out that some businesses prefer to maintain the keys to their own encrypted data.
With Citrix, businesses can manage their own ShareFile StorageZones in Microsoft Azure to benefit from the elasticity and flexibility of the cloud while maintaining ownership of their own encryption keys - an advantage typically only available on-premises, it notes.
"Enterprise IT is like an archaeological dig - layer upon layer of services have built up over decades. Enterprises want a solution that can deal with this heterogeneity. With ShareFile StorageZone Connectors SDK, Citrix is unifying access to all popular enterprise content management systems from mobile devices, making it easier to swiftly and securely take care of business from anywhere," says Jesse Lipson, vice president at Citrix.
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