When referring to the ShareFile service, most people initially think of the web application, or their client portal. However, ShareFile provides a set of power tools that allow you to interact with your ShareFile account outside of the traditional web browser. These tools streamline processes such as sending and receiving files, uploading and downloading files, and even synchronizing folder structures to your ShareFile account.

A popular power tool that you may be familiar with is the ShareFile Outlook Plug-in, however today I’d like to focus specifically on the Desktop Widget. Built on the Adobe Air platform, the ShareFile Desktop Widget is an efficient way to upload, download, and delete files from your account without ever launching a web browser. Here is a screen shot of the log-in screen:

Our Account Services team was created in January, 2011 by Nick Woerner, who has been working with ShareFile since the spring of 2008. Nick saw an opportunity to raise the bar for service and developed Account Services to improve the availability and quality of training and ongoing, proactive support for ShareFile users.

Account Services representatives conduct daily training webinars and also one-on-one sessions for customers. The team has the opportunity to work with new our accounts and learn the reasons our customers chose ShareFile as a solution for their business. I recently asked two Account Services representatives, Alex Hofford and Amanda Rogers, about the features and benefits of a ShareFile account that are most helpful to people who are just getting started or looking to learn more. Below are some of the tips they shared.

What are the most common questions that you hear from new accounts?

Alex:
FAQ- One of the most common questions I get from clients is “What is my client going to be able to see when they log in?”

Answer- While the specific answer to this question will be different with each account, the fundamental answer lies within our Folder Access permissions. With these options, the account administrator can control not only which folders each client user can see in the system, but also any download/upload capability and email notifications. These options create a level of customization so that you and your clients can get the most appropriate use out of our system.

Amanda:
FAQ- “How is the transfer secure if we send out an email with a link to download a file? What if the email gets intercepted?”

Answer- I often get asked this question, especially when going over the ‘Require user to login’ option within ‘Send a File’. I point out that if the user isn’t already created as a user on the account, the system will assign them a password. I get a lot of concern over the password coming out in the same email as the link to the file. There are measures that the administrator(s) can put into place within their account to add additional security. Our first recommendation is to create the person as user in the system and then grant them access to a folder in the account that has the material you would be sending to them. If the user is created in this way, then they will be required to log-in each time before they can access the folder. They will be sent a temporary system-generated password in an initial email and will be prompted to change that password as soon as they log-in the first time. Email notifications can be turned on, so that notification will be provided as soon as new files have been uploaded to the folder.

I’ve also helped accounts with their email templates so that a new user’s password won’t go out in an email. Some accounts even change the passwords for all users to the last four digits of their SSN (for those in Accounting and Financial industries) and then only say in the welcome email that their password is the last four digits of their SSN. I also refer those who ask these questions to the Reporting feature in their account and let them know that they can trace downloads to an IP address and location to determine who is doing the downloading/uploading of a file.

We have had a lot of new releases over the past few months, including our most recent Enterprise Sync release. In addition to our newest feature releases, we have also made some upgrades to our other Desktop Tools including our http://www.sharefile.com/about/power-tools-desktop-widget.aspx, Outlook Plug-In and the release of our new “Sticky Sort” feature. Some of these upgrades include the ability to convert attachments and the ability to choose a destination folder for “Request a File” links using the Plug-In.

It has been a pretty busy past few weeks at ShareFile. On the heels of being named number 104 on the 29th annual Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies our CEO, Jesse Lipson, sat down with our local Raleigh newspaper for an interview. A ShareFile customer, Canvas On Demand’s Joe Schmidt, had some great things to say about us.

“They have definitely stayed on the front edge of enhancing a file-sharing program,” said Joe Schmidt, co-founder and general manager of Canvas On Demand in Raleigh, which has been a ShareFile customer for more than two years. “They constantly are coming up with new enhancements that are just ahead of us thinking of wanting them,” he said.

You can read the full story on the News & Observer website here.

We’ve also Updated our desktop widget and web-based file sharing solutions with enhanced features and capabilities. You can read more about the features on the ShareFile website or on our latest press release here.

Here at ShareFile, we are in the process of a major facelift. We recently updated the interface of our web application (Click here to see the changes) and we have also made changes to ShareFile.com. The update of our website enables visitors to read more up-to-date information regarding our services, including a lot of the file sharing enhancements that have been introduced in the past few months. Take our product tour to learn more.

We also released a new version of the Desktop Widget that allows for easier uploads and downloads in addition to a new look, and the ShareFile service is also now compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android use.

We feel that we are in good company. Google released an updated interface of their search engine and Gmail this spring, and Microsoft released Office 2010 only a few months ago. With Google, the improvements seem to be largely motivated by the need to keep up with competition; as search engines become smarter, user expectations have begun to evolve. Microsoft is focused on becoming a better fit for their users, as it allows for greater social communication tracking, increased consistency through the Office tools, and better compatibility.

At ShareFile, our updates have been driven primarily by customer requests- for a cleaner interface, for more intuitive file transfer methods, etc. – but we also try to stay ahead of the curve by anticipating future requests and laying the groundwork that will help us accommodate our client’s changing needs.