Vendor Landscape: Cloud File Sharing

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Vendor Landscape: Cloud File Sharing Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group, Inc. Is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns. © 1997-2014 Info-Tech Research Group Inc.

Vendor Landscape: Cloud File Sharing

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As access ubiquity and document-centric collaboration needs have become more

complex, many organizations are turning to cloud file sharing (CFS) products to

provide end users with a lightweight but effective solution for storing, sharing, and

managing their work-related files.

Introduction



IT leaders who want to understand how

document-centric collaboration can be enabled

via CFS solutions.



Application managers who want to

complement their existing ECM ecosystems

with cloud file sharing applications.



Enterprises who are seeking to select a

specific vendor for cloud file sharing. Their

CFS use case may include:

• Enabling document collaboration for remote

workers.

• Encouraging persistent team

communication.



Understand how deploying a CFS solution

enables easy and secure access to content.



Review what’s new in the CFS market.



Review the feature sets and functionality

offered by market-leading CFS vendors and

their products.



Evaluate CFS vendors and products for your

enterprise needs.



Determine which products are most

appropriate for particular use cases and

scenarios.

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Executive Summary

Info-Tech evaluated fourteen competitors in the cloud file

sharing solution market, including the following notable

performers:

Champions:

◦

Box: A vendor that provides an excellent all-around feature set with significant workflow and content analytic capabilities.

◦

Citrix: A vendor renowned for its flexible deployment options and enterprise-grade security.

◦

Egnyte: A strong vendor with multiple storage models and good administrative controls.

◦

Hightail: A cloud-centric vendor that focuses on ease of use and the “email replacement” use case.

Value Award:

◦

Microsoft: An increased emphasis on features at an extremely competitive price point within Office 365 make OneDrive a good pick for firms needing company-wide file sync and share

capabilities.

Trend Setter Award:

◦

AirWatch: AirWatch is disrupting the CFS space by approaching it from a mobile device management (MDM) background.

1. It’s easier than SharePoint and can integrate with SharePoint on the back end.

Knowledge workers are embracing CFS more rapidly than other content collaboration tools like SharePoint, because the file/folder metaphor is well-understood by knowledge workers and is mobile-ready out of the box. 2. Mobility and collaboration features are

paramount.

The ability for employees to access content on the go, and act upon content shared through CFS provides the value. Look for features like task assignment and co-edit. 3. The enterprise security gap is almost

closed.

The majority of the vendors in this report support full IT admin, security, and audit controls. Some support private/public data storage options. However, some features (like double blind encryption) remain a differentiator.

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Cloud File Sharing Market Overview

How it got here

Where it’s going

Following the “consumerization of IT” trend, adoption of CFS solutions by businesses is mostly initiated bottom-up. However, sales and marketing effort from vendors is slowly changing the purchase pattern, and Info-Tech is seeing more and more CFS adoption as an enterprise initiative.

• Internet file hosting services have been around for a long time, but only after the explosion in popularity of solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive did the file sharing market gain widespread attention.

• Relative to traditional network file shares and enterprise content systems, consumer file services offered much greater ease of use and reliability – this led to high levels of “rogue” enterprise adoption. • As end users began to “Bring Their Own Applications”

into the business, unsanctioned and unsupported use of consumer file sync and share tools like Dropbox caught the attention of corporate IT. In response to surging enterprise demand for secure alternatives, a large number of start-ups and storage incumbents moved to offer enterprise-grade file sharing services. • In contrast to their consumer counterparts,

enterprise-focused vendors of CFS products put significantly more time and effort into building robust security architecture, better administrative controls, and end-to-end traceability and audit capabilities.

• The storage layer of CFS is rapidly becoming

commoditized, with additional business value generated by enhanced security, employee collaboration, content analytics, and integration capabilities. Many vendors are moving to a “storage agnostic” model and giving clients the option to store data in a public or private cloud, or in an on-premise hybrid solution.

• Extensive mobile support is an essential feature of most major CFS vendors, with many players proclaiming their products as “mobile first.” Some mobile device

management vendors are now expanding their offerings to encompass the content management layer as well. • Most vendors are putting an increasing emphasis on both

the depth and breadth of integration with other solutions, particularly ECM and enterprise collaboration tools. We expect this “CFS as an ecosystem” trend to rapidly gain steam in the coming year.

• Finally, some CFS vendors are beginning to incorporate advanced rules engines and content analytics to help drive business process automation.

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CFS

vendor selection and knock-out criteria: market share,

mind share, and platform coverage

• Accellion: A 3-tier business solution that can be scaled up and geographically segmented as needed. • AirWatch: An MDM-offshoot that is cross-platform and offers a self-service portal for users.

• Barracuda: A robust offering that enables a single seat to federate between business and personal use. • Box: An extremely popular business-ready alternative to the more unsecure consumer offerings.

• Citrix: An innovative solution with an on-premise option for risk or compliance-minded organizations. • Dropbox: Better known in the consumer space, Dropbox now has an enterprise play as well.

• Egnyte: An admin-friendly product that segments administration capabilities by roles and offers a hybrid storage model.

• Hightail: A best-of-breed option for deep email integration and attachment replacement.

• Infrascale: A cloud-centric solution that puts double blind encryption and security front and center.

• Microsoft: Microsoft has begun to beef up its OneDrive offering with deep 365 integration.

• OpenText: A private cloud offering that stresses ECM features and enterprise-level security.

• Salesforce: Deeply embedded into the Chatter environment, Files brings CFS to social collaboration.

• SugarSync: A compelling offering with an extremely consistent interface across multiple devices.

• Workshare: A service that is at home in compliance-centric industries that requires compare and contrast tools.

Included in this Vendor Landscape:

•

Vendors in this report are some of the most prominent and well-recognized CFS vendors from a business-focus

standpoint. We also evaluated a few powerful vendors with a strong consumer presence, but that are making enterprise plays as well (such as Dropbox). Excluded were primarily consumer-focused offerings (such as Google Drive or iCloud).

•

For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focused on those vendors that offer broad capabilities across multiple platforms and that have a strong market presence and/or reputational presence among mid- and large-sized enterprises.

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Criteria Weighting:

Cloud File Sharing criteria & weighting factors

20% 20% 20% 40% 40% 60%

Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap.

Strategy

Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support.

Reach

Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable, and will be around for the long term.

Viability

Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong.

Channel

Affordability

Architecture

Usability

Features

30% 20% 25% 25% Features Usability Architecture Affordability Product Vendor Viability Strategy Channel Reach

Product Evaluation Criteria

Vendor Evaluation Criteria

Implementing and operating the solution is affordable given the technology.

Multiple deployment options and extensive integration capabilities are available.

The end user and administrative interfaces are intuitive and offer streamlined workflow.

The solution provides basic and advanced feature/functionality.

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7 Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape: Cloud File Sharing

The Info-Tech CFS Vendor Landscape

The Info-Tech Cloud File Sharing Vendor Landscape

Champions receive high scores for most evaluation

criteria and offer excellent value. They have a strong market presence and are usually the trend setters for the industry.

Market Pillars are established players with very

strong vendor credentials, but with more average product scores.

Innovators have demonstrated innovative product

strengths that act as their competitive advantage in appealing to niche segments of the market.

Emerging Players are comparatively newer

vendors who are starting to gain a foothold in the marketplace. They balance product and vendor attributes, though score lower relative to market Champions.

For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Vendor Landscape is created, see Information Presentation – Vendor Landscape in the Appendix.

The zones of the Landscape

Accellion AirWatch Barracuda Box Citrix Dropbox Egnyte Hightail Infrascale Microsoft OpenText Salesforce SugarSync Workshare

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=Exemplary =Good =Adequate =Inadequate =Poor

Balance individual strengths to find the best fit for your

enterprise

Dropbox Barracuda AirWatch Box Citrix Accellion Egnyte Legend

Overall Features Usability Afford. Arch. Overall Viability Strategy Reach Channel

Product

Vendor

For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, see Information Presentation – Criteria Scores (Harvey Balls) in the Appendix.

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=Exemplary =Good =Adequate =Inadequate =Poor

Balance individual strengths to find the best fit for your

enterprise

SugarSync Microsoft Infrascale OpenText Salesforce Hightail Workshare Legend

Product

Vendor

For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, see Information Presentation – Criteria Scores (Harvey Balls) in the Appendix.

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Vendor Landscape: Cloud File Sharing

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What is a Value Score?

The Info-Tech Cloud File Sharing Value Index

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The Value Score indexes each vendor’s product offering and business strength relative to its price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking.

Vendors that score high offer more bang-for-the-buck (e.g. features, usability, stability, etc.) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower. Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific

vendor/product attributes.

On a relative basis, Microsoft maintained the highest Info-Tech Value ScoreTM_{of the}

vendor group. Vendors were indexed against Microsoft’sperformance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings.

Champion

For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Value Index is calculated, see Information Presentation – Value Index in the Appendix. For an explanation of how Price is determined, see Information Presentation – Price Evaluation in the Appendix.

*The vendor declined to provide pricing and publicly available pricing could not be found.

Average Score: 74 100 99 98 92 ₈₈ ₈₈ 85 ₈₁ 69 61 ₅₉ 54 46 10

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Table Stakes represent the minimum standard; without these,

a product doesn’t even get reviewed

If Table Stakes are all you need from your cloud file sharing solution, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs.

The products assessed in this Vendor LandscapeTM_{meet, at the very least, the} requirements outlined as Table Stakes.

Many of the vendors go above and beyond the outlined Table Stakes, some even do so in multiple categories. This section aims to highlight the products’ capabilities in excess of the criteria listed here.

The Table Stakes

What Does This Mean?

Files can be ordered/structured in some

hierarchical manner according to a user’s needs. Basic Content

Management

The product provides some mechanism for updating files across devices.

Basic Sync

Files or folders can be easily shared between different users.

Sharing Capabilities

The solution provides a cloud-based file repository structure for storing content. Cloud File

Repository

What it is:

Feature

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Advanced Features are the capabilities that allow for granular

market differentiation

Native apps (iOS, Android, Windows Phone), preview function, inline editing, mobile workflow. Mobile Apps

Extent of control over shared file admin (passcode lock, link expiry, file self-destruct). Content

Administration

Clients for PC and/or Mac. Selective sync, contextual integration, search integration. Desktop Sync

How content is stored and handled (e.g. repository structure, versioning, etc.). Library Services

AD LDAP integration, user roles, group memberships, broadcast messaging. User

Administration

Basic in-transit and at-rest encryption: advanced points awarded for double-blind encryption. Content Security

and Encryption

Ability to follow folders and files, commenting workflow, activity streams, synchronous editing. Collaboration

Capabilities

In-depth capabilities to log and track user activity and file history, compliance reports.

Audit and Reporting Capabilities

End-user friendly integration with productivity tools or email clients and other enterprise apps Platform and App

Integration

What we looked for:

Feature

Advanced Features

Scoring Methodology

For an explanation of how Advanced Features are determined, see Information Presentation – Feature Ranks (Stop Lights) in the Appendix.

Info-Tech scored each vendor’s features offering as a summation of their individual scores across the listed advanced features. Vendors were given one point for each feature the product inherently provided. Some

categories were scored on a more granular scale with vendors receiving half points.

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Each vendor offers a different feature set; concentrate on what

your organization needs

Dropbox Barracuda AirWatch Box Citrix Accellion Egnyte File Repository Desktop

Sync Mobile Apps

Content Admin User Admin Security and Encryption Content Collaboration Auditing and Reporting Front End Integration

Evaluated Features

=Feature absent =Feature partially present/pending

=Feature fully present Legend

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Each vendor offers a different feature set; concentrate on what

your organization needs

SugarSync Microsoft Infrascale OpenText Salesforce Hightail Workshare File Repository Desktop

Sync Mobile Apps

Content Admin User Admin Security and Encryption Content Collaboration Auditing and Reporting Front End Integration

Evaluated Features

=Feature absent =Feature partially present/pending

=Feature fully present Legend

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Scenario 2: Enterprise application integration support

Why Scenarios?

Box natively integrates with many enterprise

applications, such as CRM, Single Sign-On (SSO), social collaboration platforms, etc. Its app

marketplace is very mature with over 1,000 partner applications that either expose their functionality in Box or have Box embedded as the file sharing and collaboration service within the enterprise system. Hightail boasts a wide range of cloud integration partners, such as WinZip, Mozilla Thunderland, Salesforce, Outlook, SharePoint, and SkySync amongst many more. It hopes to expand this list soon with new partners such as Gmail, Mover.io, and NetApp.

AirWatch offers deep integration with its own MDM product, as well as solutions from VMWare and IBM. Organizations needing best of breed mobile device management integration should consider AirWatch a frontrunner.

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1 Enterprise Application

Integration Support

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For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.

In reviewing the products included in each Vendor LandscapeTM_, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info-Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist.

The features of CFS solutions alone might not be enough for your enterprise

needs. Certain vendors excel at integrating with enterprise applications.

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These vendors provide above-par mobile content access and management

solutions for on-the-go knowledge workers.

Scenario 3: Dedicated mobile applications

Why Scenarios?

AirWatch is available on iOS, Windows, and Android. Most distinctively, it offers enhanced functionality, such as syncing across devices, in-line editing, and in-line previewing. Coming from an MDM

background, mobile content management and security are also strong.

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For an explanation of how Scenarios are determined, see Information Presentation – Scenarios in the Appendix.

In reviewing the products included in each Vendor LandscapeTM_, certain use cases come to the forefront. Whether those use cases are defined by applicability in certain locations, relevance for certain industries, or as strengths in delivering a specific capability, Info-Tech recognizes those use cases as Scenarios, and calls attention to them where they exist.

Exemplary Performers

Dedicated Mobile

Applications

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Box continues to innovate with its mobile apps,

particularly post-3.0 releases on iOS. They offer native support for Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry as well. The new mobile preview provides excellent PowerPoint rendering, eliminating the need for additional products.

Barracuda is a relatively new entrant with its Copy product, but its mobile apps are available across iOS, Android, and Windows Phone and offer strong

management and access functionality in an attractive, easy-to-use package.

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Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence:

Secure Content Locker 16,638 Atlanta, GA Air-watch.com 2003 Subsidiary of VMware VMW (NYSE)

AirWatch takes a new approach on the file sharing

market by coming at it from an MDM perspective

Innovator

• Recently acquired by VMware, AirWatch has been a strong player in the Mobile Device Management (MDM) space for the last several years.

• AirWatch’s Secure Content Locker embeds CFS functionality into their overall product portfolio.

Overview

• AirWatch Secure Content Locker provides organizations with a range of storage agnostic options: storage can be provisioned from AirWatch in the public cloud, accessed in consumer solutions like Google Drive via a connector, or linked to on-premise storage repositories or other solutions.

• Not surprising given their MDM heritage, Secure Content Locker encompasses a wide range of granular security and user access controls and reports.

Strengths

• Desktop synchronization capabilities are present, but haven’t been the focus of AirWatch’s development efforts. As a result, some competitors outmaneuver them in the traditional desktop sync category.

• While Secure Content Locker is a strong product, AirWatch’s go-to-market strategy has been limited thus far to selling into existing AirWatch accounts. A broader focus on the content business will help propel greater CFS mind share for the company.

Challenges

Pricing provided by vendor.

$1 $2.5M+

3 year TCO for this solution falls into pricing tier 4, between $25,000 and $50,000

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Vendor Landscape

AirWatch has a strong feature set across the board: it’s a

newer entrant whose MDM perspective positions it well

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3rd_{out of 14}

Value Index

Info-Tech Recommends:

If storage ubiquity and MDM-grade device management capabilities are a key requirement for your

organization, AirWatch should definitely be on your shortlist. AirWatch’s range of integrations might lag

behind some of their competitors, but their unique take on the market make them a compelling choice,

especially for organizations that are also considering broader MDM capabilities as well.

Collaboration Features of AirWatch

Product Vendor

Features

Document collaboration Discussions Activity stream

No synchronous editing present

Commenting on files,

threaded discussions Personalized activity stream