Getting More Productivity With File Sharing

In the industrial and manufacturing industry, file sharing can be a crippling problem. Ease of securely sharing large files such as CAD documents, presentations, videos, and photos can be imperative to successful business operations. These files, which often contain private intellectual property and information that must remain secure, can be challenging to share internally with employees and externally with partners, contractors, vendors, and customers.

According to our recent study, “The State of Mobility in the Workplace,” nearly half of manufacturing and distribution professionals struggle with accessing files, especially when they are on the road or working remotely. Two-thirds of manufacturing and distribution professionals reported having a hard time keeping everyone upto- date. And almost half, 49 percent, find it difficult to connect on projects and work collaboratively with prospects, customers, and partners outside the company.

Yet, supply chain success depends on ready access to up-to-date files. Seventy-nine percent of manufacturing and distribution respondents reported that it’s important or very important to have anytime file access. And, even though 90 percent of these workers access files when outside of the office, 50 percent struggle when dealing with large files. Add the mounting need to maintain data security and privacy, which 84 percent of manufacturing and distribution professionals are concerned about, and secure file sharing becomes even more critical.

When File Size Can’t Slow Down Business: An Example

Inuktun, a Canadian manufacturer of remotely operated vehicles (ROV), experienced the complexities of file sharing. As a global organization, the company needed to share large video, photo, and design files with partners and agents around the world. And, because many of the products are highly specialized, files showing and describing its products and solutions need to be heavily secured to protect the clients’ privacy.

Inuktun tackled its global file-sharing difficulties by trying a number of file-sharing products designed for business use. Some of the services required very complex tree structures to achieve secure sharing. The services also didn’t provide permission controls at the granularity—the ability to restrict specific actions while permitting others for each individual— the ROV innovator required to secure confidential information.

A highly secure enterprise file sharing and collaboration service, Soonr Workplace gave Inuktun the granular permission controls it needed to easily permit or cancel access to content, including shared files, videos, and photos. Platform flexibility supported the company’s desired tree structures, making file navigation simple and efficient. Enterprise-grade georedundant servers increased upload speeds to make file sharing fast and reliable, regardless of where content was being accessed.

“When an important part of your business is proven through large technical drawing packages and videos, efficient sharing of those files is critical. Size can’t slow you down,” said Colin Dobell, president and CEO of Inuktun. “We need effective file sharing that improves relationships, especially when customers are far away. Plus, we need to easily see when files are downloaded and have the ability to disable public links as needed for further protection. These capabilities give us sophisticated control that makes our business more productive.”

Avoiding the Productivity Gap

File-sharing problems can contribute to productivity gaps that drain efficiency and profitability and lead to costly errors. When properly selected, however, a secure file-sharing service can deliver security and efficiency to support productivity.

Consider software that offers these critical features:

• Support for Mobile Devices—When content needs to be shared fast, don’t be constrained by the device type used to access a file-sharing service. The best options support desktop and mobile devices, and they enable integrated Microsoft® Office file editing on tablets and mobile phones. This can eliminate additional and potentially cumbersome third-party mobile apps.
• End-to-End Security—Some filesharing programs put valuable company data at risk. Data security functionality should be baked-in throughout the online software, including remote wipe for mobile devices, without limiting usability. Data protection for documents should be present at every stage.
• Control and Management—Filesharing software should enable granular control to manage access to projects, folders, files, and even the devices used to access them.
• “Dial Tone” Availability—To reduce any possibility of experiencing service interruption, performance degradation, or malware infections, select a filesharing service that owns and operates georedundant data centers with offline access.
• End-user Focused—Select an online software that supports end users and the unique needs of industrial businesses. It should also work intuitively, minimizing training or help desk support.

Mobility, file access, and collaboration demands shouldn’t get in the way of business or productivity. Select a secure file-sharing service optimized for the demands of manufacturing and industrial businesses and the bottom-line result of greater productivity will be seen quickly.

www.soonr.com