Shifting Storage: The Decision to Move to an EFSS System and Vendor Variety

What once was marketed and perceived as consumer-driven technology is no more. The enterprise now consistently includes integrated enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) that exists as a symbiotic mechanism of the complete enterprise itself rather than being a plug and play, isolated software package.

Forrester Wave studied a variety of vendor-providers that are leaders in the current market. Their specific packages vary in some details, offerings, and scope, but they all generally do some variation of widespread company or organization-wide file sync and share.

The Two Groups of Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS) Groups as Divided and Categorized by Forrester:

• Native Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers that are cloud-based which invest in capabilities that are geared toward making them the standard for corporate content storage and access

• On-premise "Hybrid Cloud" deployments / target hybrid cloud that have developed innovative ways of developing secure connectors to existing storage locations or content applications (mobile-friendly without having to execute a full-scale transition to a new structure)

When an EA professional is considering assessing and then suggesting that his/her organization move to a SaaS offering, the question of migration must be considered. Does your company or organization want to and can it afford to do a full-scale migration to another format? Can they afford and implement a structure and the trainings necessary for the transition to be smooth and effective for all?

From Content to Cloud: The Role of EFSS Providers

Land is no longer life for many corporations, schools, and organizations. Their heads are no longer in a cloud as much as their actual systems of record exist there. EFSS vendors can now engage through collaboration from anywhere on the globe.

Benefits to EFSS Vendors Moving Toward Cloud-Based Vehicles as Systems of Record

• Cloud-based vehicles are trending. Though the Enterprise cloud management (ECM) market is approaching $10 billion, enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) platforms are making in-roads within the industry’s preferred storage and collaborative technological infrastructures. It is the method on the rise. Backed by some of the world’s largest tech companies, EFSS technology vendors have the clout and research dollars to improve and innovate all at once.
  
  
• Forrester’s research shows that by 2018 over three-quarters of enterprises will have incorporated some or all SaaS content services. EFSS can appropriately now handle concerns such as simple retention rules, auditing, scalable repository services, metadata, task management, workflow management, and search.
  
  
• While the cloud-based companies dominate the du jour attention, it is valuable to also address and assess the EFSS hybrid solutions. They are quite versatile, able to handle a combination of on-premises deployment, cloud, and hybrid options. They tend to offer cloud-based options for metadata management, content, and application delivery. For companies beginning or unsure about a full transition, the hybrid options can be very successful.
  
  

Download Forrester's Latest Report on Enterprise File Sync and Share Platforms

There are specific internal and external reasons for a transition. Whether you choose a cloud-based system for all of your needs or you go with a more tepid approach and choose a hybrid, you will find options that suit your company or organization’s needs for a collaborative approach, accessible information, and a layered system of access for the multiple layers of security that you have in place.