Amazingly, 26% of small businesses still depend on physical filing cabinets to collect, store and share content. Efficiently managing information is a real pain - whether in physical folders or manually on hard drives - and organisations are turning to cloud storage services as a solution to this perennial problem.
Last year’s TwinStrata survey found five out of six organisations were using or planning to use cloud storage and that storage capacity demands are growing between 40-60% yearly.
What is Dropbox?
Dropbox is like a weightless filing cabinet that follows you all around the globe and is accessible on any of your devices. Once implemented, the ability to store, sync and share data in a secure, controlled environment becomes indispensable to organisations. Dropbox for Business supports a collaborative workforce while providing greater control over data and offers business-grade backup and recovery.
After installation, a Dropbox folder appears. Data in the Dropbox folder is automatically synchronised over an encrypted internet connection, making the folder accessible from any device and any location with an internet connection. Additionally, IT admins can monitor and review how corporate documents are accessed and generate reports based on data.
Organisations still mired in traditional storage methods have much to gain from Dropbox for Business.
How can Dropbox help your organisation?
Enhanced Collaboration
Many organisations want to cultivate a collaborative workforce but don’t have the technology or know-how to support it. Dropbox streamlines and simplifies collaborative processes, making it easy for colleagues, departments and clients to share content harmoniously.
Traditional collaboration is made difficult by geographical barriers, miscommunications, versioning conflicts and much more. Organisations leveraging cloud-based collaboration technologies like Dropbox have a distinct advantage over others still emailing edited documents back and forth.
Bruce Rogers, Chief Insights Officer of Forbers Media, says "the ability to collaborate in the cloud is becoming a key driver of competitive advantage."
This is because the file-sharing capabilities of cloud technologies, like Dropbox, overcome the usual problems encountered during group work. Content syncs automatically, ensuring all group members have anytime, anywhere access to the latest version ofcontent. The result is real-time communication, better problem solving and a more productive organisation.
Better Data Security
Cloud security is often depicted as chancy at best, yet Dropbox for Business can enhance visibility, giving an organisation more control over its data.
As organisations become more experienced in cloud security options and best practices, the less of a concern cloud security becomes. Dropbox makes it easy to audit activity and track the history of actions, providing tools for monitoring and protecting data.
For example, if an employee loses a device, Dropbox can unlink the device and delete all Dropbox account files remotely. Other advanced security measures include implementing a two-step verification process, where signing on a new device requires a six digit security code as well as user password.
Dropbox makes managing access to information seamless, allowing employees to work efficiently without clumsy security controls getting in their way.
Reliable Backup
Managing your own backup system can reduce productivity. Dropbox for Business gives organisations access to secure, efficient backup and recovery systems without the hassle.
Organisations managing their own backup systems spend a great deal of time and money on hardware, personnel and maintenance. Additionally, the manual processes required can hamper daily productivity and the solution can slow down other systems relying on the same internet connection.
In fact, 75% of those who work at organisations with 50-99 employees said daily backups are disruptive to workplace productivity.
Dropbox’s backup occurs silently in the background. The delta-sync technology backs up content automatically without any additional manual processes. Additionally, since only the parts of files that have changed are backed up, the process is quick and painless. Files are restored with a few clicks or bulk restorations are performed with the help of a support team.
Organisations leveraging Dropbox receive enterprise-level backup and recovery systems - minus the headaches and overhead.
What challenges do you need to consider?
A compromised Dropbox account is an entry point into an organisation’s network, which can leave the organisation vulnerable to malware and other data security issues. For example, in 2012 several usernames and passwords were stolen to acquire unauthorised access to a small number of Dropbox accounts. However, businesses can protect themselves from password hacking with Dropbox’s two-factor verification process.
Untrained staff can lead to disruptions in workplace productivity. For example, a staff member who is unaware that deleting files in a ‘shared folder’ will delete them from all devices. Proper training before and after implementation, along with Dropbox’s live support, can ensure this challenge doesn’t become a problem.
Data sovereignty may be an issue for organisations that require all data to be kept inside Australia. Since Dropbox servers are located outside of Australia, you may not be complaint with industry and government regulations. Read more about data sovereignty.
How can you implement Dropbox?
Currently, Dropbox boasts four million business customers. Organisations large and small are benefitting from seamless collaboration, greater visibility and control over company data and automated backup and recovery.
Dropbox for Business offers a free 14-day trial, allowing organisations to try before they commit. Dropbox is more than simple storage. It enables an innovative workforce, protects your organisation’s core and is an investment into the future.