Businesses have tapped further into remote employees and as technology advances so does the need for proper communication channels when you’re not all located in surrounding offices and cubicles. Businesses often have to communicate electronically and sometimes this means sharing files that have large data or volume sizes.
It would seem that content sharing should be super simple with the constant availability and ease of sharing on social media and various online avenues, but when it comes to sharing business content and large amounts of data it gets quite a bit more complicated.
Sending business data is far different than sharing a news story or posting something to your social media pages. Business data typically has restrictions on how it can be shared due to privacy or data sensitivity. Most business data must be shared in a protected manner that is capable of sharing large amounts of data.
What Are the Best Options for Business File Sharing?
There are 3 primary types of business data file sharing. Email is a primary tool, but it also has its limitations. Most basic emails used by businesses have restrictions on data file sizes. Email is the ultimate communication tool, so we must find what works best to allow you to communicate effectively and transfer the large data files that you need to share with your global employees and/or clients.
This leads us to determine what the easiest way to share large files over email might be. The primary options available for transferring large data files are zip data compression, file sharing sites such as Dropbox, Jetdrop, Google Drive, etc., or contracting with an FTP (file transfer protocol) server and having customers or employees access files there. Let’s break these down a little further.
Zip Compression
Compressing files has long been one of the means for transferring large data from one source to another. Zip compression is a form of data transfer that compresses the file to hold the same amount of data but to make the overall data file a smaller size which allows it to transfer more quickly and much more easily.
Zip is not the only type of file compression, but it is the most common and most well-known. Compressing a file creates an archive type set-up for the files which allows them to compress into far less data usage.
The zip compression allows you to store or share your large data file. The transfer will take less time as it is recognized as a smaller file, and it is also more likely to fall into data size restriction ranges as well.
When the Zip file is received, it can be decompressed through decompression-type software and opened and read as a normal file. The biggest challenge with zip files is you must utilize some form of decompression software to open the file or they simply will not open properly.
File Sharing Site Apps
You might be familiar with file sharing site names like Jetdrop, Dropbox, or Google Drive. These file sharing site apps utilize cloud storage to share files of all kinds. Sharing videos, files, music, etc. is made simpler through these file sharing apps because it does not require extensive storage or transfer capabilities.
The cloud can seem like a scary place. You don’t really know where that data is or who can access it, but the truth is you are probably already using the cloud without even knowing about it. Any type of app or site with data storage is in a sense tied to the cloud.
Your banking app, your email database, and your social media accounts all use the cloud for the data held and processed through them. These are just examples of what types of things may run through the cloud.
File sharing site apps use the cloud because it has unlimited storage and you only utilize what you need at a given time. This allows businesses and individuals to work around data limitation restrictions when file sharing.
One of the great file sharing benefits for businesses is that they no longer have to purchase expensive infrastructure for storage. They can still impose storage and file sharing limitations on their day-to-day business without having to store and properly care for oversized mainframes.
Cloud storage to us seems vast and unknown, but it is still sent to storage and servers, but on a high data center type level that is kept secure. These data centers are created specifically for the purpose of cloud storage. Let me iterate that while your data is in a warehouse full of servers, it is still secure.
File sharing through the cloud is one of the fastest growing methods for file sharing. It is one of the most convenient and secure options available for both business and individual data sharing. The file you transfer is first placed in the file-sharing app where it is encrypted with a data key from your computer. From there it is transferred and available for retrieval from the appropriate source.
When the appropriate party enters the file-sharing app, they use a key or password to decrypt and retrieve the file. They must be granted access to that file in some manner (i.e. a key or password). They then are able to extract the file, unlock the file and access the file by downloading or opening and saving the file. On both ends of this process, the data remains stored in the cloud utilized by the file sharing site or app.
While it is technically possible for hackers or other individuals to potentially get access to your files when they are stored or transferred in the cloud, it would certainly not be an easy task. There are multiple safeguards in place to prevent such things from potentially happening and then even further safeguards to protect the material in case of hacking or wayward access.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
File Transfer Protocol is one of the oldest means of transferring data online but is still quite effective. FTP servers are typically subscribed to and offer you the benefit of transferring large data files in a secure manner.
You can download files to the FTP software server and then clients or other employees may access those files with the proper credentials. Here’s how it works. You upload the file to the server and then a link or a notification is sent to the email of the person you wish to share the file with. That person usually has to verify their identity in some manner and create a login. There may be a specific password tied to the file for access.
FTP differs from file sharing in that rather than utilizing cloud storage they are utilizing a server that is owned by the FTP or even their own company through the FTP provider. The FTP is simply the data-sharing medium that is used.
FTP transfers are not encrypted and encryption offers a secondary layer of security, however, since FTPs were designed there is a new format known as FTPS, which is the same type of function but with an encryption layer as well. Many of the FTP servers have gone to utilizing and offering only FTPS because of the security measure of encryption.
How Does a Business Choose?
These options and descriptions are great, but where do you go from here? How does a business choose what type of file sharing they should use? Ultimately, this is a matter of preference and also potentially a matter of cost for the business.
File sharing site apps have become the most popular form of large data sharing technology for businesses. This is due to the low cost and ease of use. The act of utilizing cloud storage is relatively secure, especially when you consider the other options available for data transfer.
Which type of large data transfer option your business uses could vary based on the needs of the business and the types of sensitive information your business deals with routinely. Make an educated decision based on the needs of your business specifically.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it is best to do the research and discover which file sharing option will fulfill your business needs. When it comes down to the basics, specific file sharing apps or sites are the most reliable and the most affordable.
Many of the file sharing sites and apps operate at little to no cost and are capable of transferring large business files, making it affordable and convenient for you to continue business operations without the hassle of extra software purchases or the worry of data security and internal storage.
As technology continues to advance, the data sharing options for businesses will continue to improve. Business file sharing has already become much easier and much more secure than say even a decade ago in the business world. There are many file sharing sites available for use, and they each operate under the same concept. Seek out the best option at the best price and keep your business fully in the know.
