Pelz-Sharpe Alan Pelz-Sharpe

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Are cloud-based file-sharing services too immature for the enterprise?

26-Jan-2012

Tags: Document Management (ECM), Enterprise Collaboration & Social Software, SharePoint Ecosystem, Cloud Computing, E-Discovery, Marketplace at Large, Mobile Computing, Selecting Technology

We've just released an advisory paper, "Are cloud-based file-sharing services too immature for the enterprise?”

It's a question that many of our advisory customers have been asking us, so we decided to answer it in briefing format.

Cloud-based file-sharing services have obtained some traction, even among larger organizations, because of ease of provisioning and mobile access, as well as for exchanging files with external parties. At least five major providers now target enterprise customers for hosted file sharing: Box, Dropbox, Huddle, Oxygen, and ShareFile.

Just today in fact when talking with a major industrial manufacturer, the excitement and possibilities of working with such suppliers was tempered with concerns over their readiness and maturity to deal with real enterprise needs. To quote this prospective customer, "All these vendors tell us they work with big enterprises, but when we speak to them it feels like it's the first time a real enterprise has asked real enterprise questions of them..."

Certainly cloud providers are here to stay, and if employed in the right circumstances can bring real benefits, but it's still early days as our research paper details.

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