Guided by Enterprise Sales Specialist Sarah Kordulewski and Sales Engineer, Chris Anderson, the class starts off with background information on ShareFile and how the service fulfills the file transfer needs of enterprise customers. After a brief overview, Sarah moves into a demonstration of our most popular tools like the Outlook Plugin, ShareFile Sync and the mobile apps. For technical attendees, Chris jumps in throughout the presentation to discuss the architecture of the application in more detail. In addition, each class ends with a Q&A session open to all attendees and no question is off limits!

“It’s a great opportunity for companies to see a demonstration of the ShareFile Enterprise product while also getting a technical overview of the architecture,” says Sarah. “I love being able to have a virtual meeting where people all over the world can come and see the product as we update it and add new features. [The class] not only helps educate potential customers, it helps educate current Citrix employees, customers, and partners on the ShareFile product.”

Want to learn more about StorageZones? Interested in integrating ShareFile with Active Directory? Have some technical questions about how ShareFile works? Sign up for the ShareFile Master Class and get the answers to all of your questions. Click here to see upcoming classes.

Archiving FAQs

Is my ShareFile account eligible for archiving?

Archiving for Financial Services is initially only available to SMB firms that are on the financial corporate plan or higher. If your company does not have a corporate account, contact your account representative to upgrade and benefit from this feature.

If I use ShareFile archiving will I automatically be compliant?

Once the archiving feature is activated, your ShareFile records are stored in a manner compliant with most regulations. However, you should still adhere to compliance standards for files stored outside ShareFile. For example, emails and faxes not sent through ShareFile may still fall under certain regulations, but would need to be uploaded into ShareFile to meet compliance standards.

Is ShareFile a designated third party?

Although ShareFile is not a designated third party (D3P), we will work with your D3P to export all necessary records. Because our new archiving feature prevents a client or D3P from tampering with important records, we mitigate the risk of changes by removing the ability to overwrite or erase records.

What changes in ShareFile when you enable archiving?

When you enable archiving, the ShareFile main app will prevent the deletion of account files, folders, sent messages, active and inactive links, and notifications for a minimum of three years. The items are instead sent to an archive where they can be accessed at a later date as necessary. The feature ensures that all communication via ShareFile can be accessed by a D3P in compliance with record-keeping standards.

Today marks the two year anniversary of the debut of Desktop Sync. The release of Sync allowed users to quickly and easily integrate ShareFile into their daily workflow. We found that Sync was able to fulfill a variety of needs – allowing accountants to seamlessly upload tax documents to their client folders and ensuring that sales reps in the field always have the most up-to-date figures. The best part of all – it’s fully automated!

Since that time, we have made many improvements to the tool and introduced a number of enhanced versions. In March of 2011 we released Enterprise Sync, which offered improved capabilities for IT management and large-scale deployment. Some of these features include:

• Compatibility with server and network environments

• Ability for an administrator to create and manage sync jobs for multiple user accounts

• Options to constantly run Sync jobs or schedule jobs to run at designated times

• Detailed logging on each sync job

Enterprise Sync saves IT a great deal of time, particularly with setup and configuration. Rather than needing to deploy Desktop Sync to each individual machine and configure every user, Enterprise Sync allows management from a central location in a much more reliable fashion. This tool also replaces many time-consuming projects such as automated FTP and command line integration.

The next evolution of our Sync offerings came in May of 2012, when we released our native Sync client.  To provide the best experience possible, we started from the ground up with a native client optimized for each specific operating system. This allowed us to introduce a number of exciting features, including:

• Real-time synchronization of files

• File Overlays and ShareFile context menu in Windows Explorer/Finder

• Real-time updates in the system tray/icon bar

• AD/SAML Integration

So far the response to this new Sync tool has been terrific. Our development efforts have continued, focusing in particular on first-time user experience, virtualized environment optimization and promoting ease of use. Currently this tool is only available for enterprise customers, but we hope to provide it to all users in the near future.

If you would like more information or training on any of our Sync tools, please let us know! Our account managers and support staff would love to take some time to discuss your options and provide the best solution to benefit you.

If you aren’t using Sync yet, I would encourage you to give it a look – you may very well find that Sync can fit your needs perfectly!

1) Send a File

When you need to send a large file fast, log into ShareFile online and use the Send a File link in the top navigation bar. This link will open a Send form, which works just like sending a regular email. Set up your email, upload a file, and ShareFile will send the recipient a link to download the file online.

2) Convert attachments to ShareFile links

When you need to send a file in Outlook that’s too large or too sensitive to attach normally, use the ShareFile plug-in to easily change the attachments to a secure ShareFile link. The Convert to ShareFile button makes it easy to change normal email attachments to secure ShareFile links.

3) Send from your preferred mobile app

ShareFile mobile apps are available for iPad, iPhone, Android phone and tablet, Windows 8 and Windows Phone, and BlackBerry. With so many apps to choose from, you can use ShareFile’s secure sending from any device.

4) Right-click to send

With the ShareFile Plug-in for Microsoft Outlook, you have the option to right-click and send any file via a secure ShareFile link. Just locate the file that you want to send on your desktop or in Windows Explorer, right-click the file and hover over Send to in the menu that will open. Click Mail Recipient with ShareFile, and a new message will open immediately with a link to the file you selected.

5) Send a ShareFile link in your own email software

When you use the Send a File link or the Send option in a folder, you can change the Email Sending Options setting to Give me link I can copy and send using my own email software. This option collapses the Send form, so you can just use the check boxes on the screen to determine how the link will work. Instead of sending an email, ShareFile will simply provide a link to your file that you can copy into a message in your normal email program.

6) Send from the Widget

The ShareFile Desktop Widget features built-in send capabilities. Open the Widget and use the Send option at the top of the screen, or right-click a file and click Send File. A Send form will open so that you can compose a message and send a link to your file, without even opening your email program.

7) Set Outlook preferences to always send large files via ShareFile

With the ShareFile Plug-in for Outlook, you can enable ShareFile to replace any attachments over a given size limit with ShareFile links, or choose to send all of your attachments through ShareFile. Click the Plug-in Options button in your Outlook Inbox toolbar and then click the Attachment Policy option to view and change your automatic attachment settings.

Happy sending!

We are proud to announce that Citrix ShareFile won the gold award for Enterprise Product of the Year. We are honored to receive this award as it reflects the level of ease of use, security, control and administrative functionality that we deliver. Four differentiating features include:

Built for business mobility – ShareFile was designed to meet the increased demand to work anywhere at any time from any device. In recognition of the need for mobile business tools, ShareFile released apps for iPhone, iPad, Android phone and tablet, BlackBerry and Windows Phone later in the year. ShareFile iOS app downloads are more than doubling each quarter.

Secure – ShareFile offers the industry’s first unauthorized data access alert feature of its kind for mobile devices. Administrators can order a remote wipe of files and at the same time obtain a complete report on all files accessed, even while the device was offline, in the case of a lost or stolen phone or tablet. ShareFile also now features a poison pill feature to iOS apps and Android tablet that allows IT to set data expiration policies for mobile devices. Activity audits are available so that administrators can create reports and review access across the account.

Concierge-style customer service – Once you sign up, you get a dedicated rep – unlike competing offerings. This service has continued even as the company doubled its customer base in the past year.

Flexibility – ShareFile with StorageZones provides IT with the ability to choose optimal locations for storing their corporate data – on premises within their private cloud, in secure Citrix ShareFile-managed cloud storage or a hybrid of the two. This optimizes performance and helps organizations meet unique compliance and data sovereignty policies that require them to store data within their datacenter.

Want to learn how ShareFile- Enterprise Edition supports mobile workstyles and enhances productivity? Visit the ShareFile Enterprise product page.

Cloud computing has been widely accepted as a means for data storage, among other services. Moving to the cloud can be a smart business move, but do you know what questions to ask of a cloud service provider?

Lipson discusses the fear around cloud computing and offers some practical advice for companies thinking about moving business functions to the cloud. Read the full article, “Is Your Data Safe In The Cloud?” to learn more.

Interested in hearing more from the VP & GM of  the Data Sharing product group at Citrix? Follow Jesse Lipson on Twitter.

Trumpet’s Publisher is easy to use, and helps advisory firms provide speedier delivery of documents to their clients.  The Trumpet Publisher allows for the easy upload from both a Windows® file structure, or a document management application such as Worldox®.  It also makes it simple to publish files from any directory, rather than requiring the files to be organized in per-client folders.

The Trumpet Publisher is the perfect tool for both existing ShareFile users looking for a more automated way of uploading client files, or any advisory firm that is interested in adopting a web portal to share large files with their clients and others in a secure and easy manner.  Advisory firms increasingly want their websites to be the “information hub” for their clients.  As such, Trumpet’s Publisher makes it easy to publish performance reports, custodial statements and other documents for client access, all in one centralized location.

Here’s a word from an early adopter:

“As an early adopter,” states Vilas Naralakattu, Technology Manager for Pinnacle Advisory Group, Inc., Columbia, Maryland, “I’m very pleased about how well the Trumpet Publisher has performed and how simple it is for our users. It has allowed us to publish over 750 reports into the client’s corresponding ShareFile folders with very few mouse clicks.  Without Trumpet’s Publisher, this task would have been burdensome.”

Learn more about ShareFile for Financial and see how financial advisors improve daily workflow with the ability to access their files from anywhere.

“ShareFile iOS applications have already seen major momentum with downloads more than doubling each quarter,” said Jesse Lipson, VP and GM, Data Sharing, Citrix. “At Citrix, we’re focused on empowering mobile workers, and today’s ShareFile app for iPhone release provides them with the latest in content sharing and security on any iPhone, including the soon-to-be-released iPhone 5.”

Check out what is new:

Unauthorized access alert: New feature that tracks files viewed in ShareFile for iPhone (and ShareFile for iPad) after a remote wipe is activated, even when the user is offline. The app generates a log, indicating whether files were viewed so that users can determine whether data was compromised – providing critical insight in the event of a lost or stolen device.

Intelligent device security policies: New “poison pill” option enables IT to set data expiration policies, plus multiple preferences settings allow IT to decide whether files can be opened in third-party applications or saved offline.

Enterprise Active Directory integration: ShareFile for iPad connects to Active Directory and SAML enterprise identities for a more seamless and secure user experience.

Improved auditing and reporting: Enhanced capabilities help IT to track and log user activity.

Offline access: Advanced options allow users to save files locally for offline access and editing.

Quickoffice integration: Integration with Quickoffice enables users to edit Microsoft Office documents and save them back to ShareFile.

Easy access to multiple accounts: Redesigned interface makes it simple to view multiple ShareFile accounts and folders, providing users with easy access to all of their data.

Take a sneak peek at screen shots of the updated app:

Want to know how ShareFile customers are currently using the mobile apps?

The Salinas Police Department Deputy Chief challenged his team to improve their process for submitting police reports. They were using cassette recorders with a standard tape, which proved to be difficult to manage. The department now uses ShareFile mobile apps to easily file reports from the field.

Babington Technology, a manufacturer of military equipment, uses ShareFile mobile apps to streamline daily operations. The company is required by its government clients to provide weekly written and visual progress reports. With ShareFile’s iOS apps, the process of gathering and sharing images is quick and efficient for the company.

Want to start sharing on-the-go? ShareFile for iPhone is available for download from the App Store in time for the iPhone 5 launch.

Deltex Medical markets and manufactures the CardioQ-ODM (Oesophageal Doppler Monitor), which enables anaesthetists to safely and accurately administer intravenous ­fluids during surgery using minimally invasive Doppler technology. This reduces the rates of post-operative complications as well as the length of critical care and overall hospital stay. The monitor is now being adopted into routine clinical practice in leading hospitals around the world. To date, more than 500,000 patients have benefited from the use of the ODM.

So you may be wondering how ShareFile plays a role in this business day-to-day?Well, prior to ShareFile, requests for artwork, large documents and software revisions were placed on CDs and then sent via the postal system. These CDs were often getting lost in remote parts of the world, delaying the process. “It was a very laborious and frustrating process, not only on our part but also forour clients/customers, not to mention the tight deadlines and costs,” says Tanya. The Company also used the same method of file transfer for intellectual property, FDA documentation, training videos and various other highly confidential documents.

According to Tanya, ShareFile is a “no brainer” for the company. Tanya shared with me that ShareFile has streamlined operations throughout the whole company, saving not only time, but money as well. ShareFile enables the company to eliminate the use of previously favored methods of sending and instead send various types and sizes of files though the client portal, the Outlook Plug-in and mobile apps. “It’s ease of use is a real bonus, not to mention how safe and dependable it is for our company to send and also receive large, important documents wherever you are in the world.  The real-time email notifications are an absolute timesaver for us,” says Tanya.

Want to know how others are using ShareFile? Check out our YouTube channel to learn more.

Learn how our customers use ShareFile mobile apps every day:

Employees at Babington Technology, a manufacturer of military equipment, use ShareFile mobile apps to streamline daily operations. The company is required by its clients in government to provide weekly, text-based progress updates with pictures to reinforce the written statement. With the use of mobile devices including iPhones, iPads and Android OS phones, coupled with the ShareFile mobile apps, the process of gathering and sharing images is quick and efficient for the company.

The Salinas Police Department was challenged by their deputy chief to send police reports in a more efficient way. Prior to ShareFile, the department used cassette recorders with a standard tape, which proved to be difficult to manage. The department now uses ShareFile mobile apps to easily transfer the necessary documents right from the field.

We are excited to provide with you the mobile tools you need for business, and we continue to focus R&D resources on the mobile space. All ShareFile mobile applications are free to download for ShareFile customers.

Want a quick glance at the newly designed iPad app? Check out our iPad Usage Guide.

We would love to hear from you! Share your mobile story with us today on the ShareFile Facebook page.

“The ability to access and share files from anywhere is quickly becoming a critical requirement for today’s mobile workers,” said Jesse Lipson, VP and GM, Data Sharing, Citrix. “The strategic collaboration between ShareFile and Primadesk is designed to make it even easier for businesses to share data and exchange files securely across any device.”

Primadesk leveraged ShareFile’s API portal to rapidly scale its open platform and integrate with ShareFile within just a few days. ShareFile’s API portal is an online resource featuring tools and documentation that make it easy for partners, developers and customers to integrate their applications or services with ShareFile.

“We are always looking for ways to bring our users additional functionality and increased productivity,” said CEO of Primadesk Srinivasa (Venky) Venkataraman. “Adding ShareFile to our growing list of services that we manage, organize, and backup will tremendously increase this functionality and also allow users to access ShareFile on the go – through Primadesk’s mobile applications.”

For more information about how to integrate applications or services with ShareFile, please visit: http://api.sharefile.com/.

Film Racing needed a way to easily manage the competition and decided to use ShareFile.  Filmmakers upload their videos using ShareFile’s remote upload form. The operators of the film festival can then organize the videos on ShareFile by geographic location and easily send to the editors and judges throughout the country.

Check out the ShareFile video testimonial from Charlie Weisman of Film Racing to learn how his business uses ShareFile to send files easily.

SaaS: Software as a service (SaaS) is a model for cloud computing where software and data are hosted remotely on the software provider’s servers. Users connect to the service via the Internet. Web-based email clients are a popular example of SaaS, allowing users to log in to their inbox from an Internet browser rather than opening an installed client on their desktop.

Uptime: Storing data in the cloud is only helpful if you can get to information when you need it. Cloud service providers should be able to give you an idea of how reliable their service has been in the past. Uptime guarantees should account for scheduled maintenance that may affect the availability of the service.

Encryption: Business-focused cloud services will have security measures in place to protect data from being intercepted or hacked. For peace of mind, make sure that your provider encrypts data during transfer to and from their servers. If you send, upload, or download information with the service, it should be protected. Many providers will also encrypt your information while it is at rest on their servers.

Data Portability: Business needs change, and you may find that you need to retrieve all of your data from a cloud provider someday. Ask providers if it is possible to completely remove your information should you no longer require the service or decide to move to a different provider.

While you continue to use the service, ensure that you can remove any data that is out of date or no longer in use. A service should allow you to completely remove files so that you don’t have information stored when it’s no longer necessary.

Redundancy: A cloud service provider should have detailed plans for managing disaster scenarios. While your own business may be tied to a specific location, many SaaS providers maintain multiple server locations and back up data for their primary servers to protect again data loss. Ask providers how they would manage a server failure to verify that they have the infrastructure to get the service back online in a reasonable timeframe.

BYOD: “Bring Your Own Device” has become a popular phrase. As consumers buy tablets and phones to increase connectivity, they naturally want to integrate work functions with their new mobile devices.

Businesses are smart to allow employees to use mobile devices for work. Working remotely can improve productivity and lead to a happier workforce. In order to take advantage of the benefits of convenient mobile work, companies can look into securing their mobile workflow so that data security is not compromised.

Visit ShareFile to learn more about how our secure, cloud-based file transfer solution can benefit your business.

According to the Computerworld article, ShareFile uploaded a 100MB file containing PDF documents, JPG images and TIFF images in 7 min. 27 sec., over 20% faster than YouSendIt (9 min. 23 sec.) and over 39% faster than Box (12 min. 24 sec.).

Upload speed is the rate at which your data is uploaded to the Internet. Standard transmission speed is 500 to 900 Kbps (Kilobits per second). That speed is affected by a variety of factors. Internet network connection, the upload speed provided by your ISP, location and file size all determine the time it takes to upload information.

ISPs give priority to downloading information because the majority of users do more downloading than uploading. Therefore, upload speeds are generally slower than download speeds.

However, timely file uploads are especially important to those using a cloud-based file sharing solution. Waiting for a file to upload can be a seriously frustrating problem, and it can slow business during mission critical moments. That’s why it’s important to use a file sharing solution that solves the problem of slow upload speeds but doesn’t restrict file size.

To learn more about how to send and receive large files up to 10GB, check out the full list of ShareFile features, start a free trial or give us a call today 1-800-441-3453.

*Source: Computerworld, 10 file-sharing options July 13, 2012

I recently had the opportunity to speak with ShareFile customer and Babington Technology Sr. Project Engineer, Eric Robb. Eric shared some insight with me on how his company uses ShareFile’a mobile apps to create an efficient day-to-day workflow.

Babington Technology, a manufacturer of military equipment, uses ShareFile mobile apps to streamline daily operations. The company is required by its clients in government to provide weekly, text-based progress updates with pictures to reinforce the written statement. With the use of mobile devices (several iPhones, four iPads and three Android OS phones), coupled with the ShareFile mobile apps, the process of gathering and sharing images is quick and efficient.

“The ease of use of the ShareFile apps makes adoption quick and easy. However, the government feedback is what has been amazing. Prior to ShareFile, sharing documentation with the different military branches was a painful, slow process. With the adoption of ShareFile, and the overwhelming positive feedback on the client end, this once miserable process now has an easy solution. ‘We’ll just put it on ShareFile’ has become a common statement in our production meetings, both for internal documents between our three offices and for client deliverables. The ShareFile experience has been a very positive one here at Babington Technology,” says Eric Robb, Sr. Project Engineer at Babington Technology.

Mobile integration allows the company to take more photos, adding to the value of documentation and progress reports. The written documents are typically uploaded through the ShareFile web interface and shared via the Outlook plugin. Each of these processes is easy to learn and consistent with users’ day-to-day workflow.

Want to hear what other ShareFile customers have to say? Check out the ShareFile YouTube Channel.

Check out the enhanced ShareFile app for iPad, just announced today!

The enhanced ShareFile app for iPad provides users with an even richer experience while accessing their data on-the-go and offers IT departments simple management and control to ensure sensitive corporate data is secure at all times.

As more companies begin to embrace mobile workstyles and the ‘Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)’ phenomenon continues to explode, Citrix is expanding its mobile solutions to ensure that employees are able to seamlessly, safely and securely work from anywhere at any time.

 Here are a few of the new features in the updated app:

For users:

-Redesigned interface for a brilliant and intuitive user experience

-Save Back integration with Quickoffice Pro

-Seamless access to multiple ShareFile accounts and folders for easy access to data

-Improved access and visibility to offline and downloaded files

For IT:

-Enhanced security controls such as a “poison pill” option, enabling IT to prescribe data expiration policies

-Active Directory and SAML login support to leverage single sign on policies

-Improved auditing & reporting capabilities to track and log user activity

-In addition, we continue to support “Remote Wipe” in case a user device is lost or stolen

Check out the ShareFile for iPad Usage Guide to learn more about the app itself.   For information on configuring device security settings and remote wipe feature, visit the ShareFile Knowledge Base.

It’s imperative that firm leaders conduct a careful review of their risk in handling confidential client information and ensure that they have appropriate tools and controls in place to manage the risk. It’s critical to understand that email alone, in the absence of additional protective measures, is inherently insecure and inadequate. Transmitting client information via email attachment does not meet the specified legal requirements and fails to live up to the certified public accountant (CPA) commitment to client confidentiality. Alternative means of electronic document transfer must be used.

The Problem of Transmitting Sensitive Client Information: Protection of Confidential Information

For anyone who has ever worked in an accounting firm in any capacity, part of the day one orientation deals with the importance of protecting client confidentiality. CPAs have always, and quite correctly, taken their obligation to safeguard sensitive client information very seriously. In the not too distant past, most of this information existed in paper form, and its transmission was either physical (through the mail or hand delivered) or verbal over the phone. Safeguarding this type of information was relatively straightforward, and most firms had well thought out policies to ensure security. Today, of course, the world is no longer so simple. Firms of all sizes have the prospect of working globally with a highly mobile workforce and client base, and handling information may exist only electronically. Working efficiently in this environment, while still maintaining the highest standards of client confidentiality, is a far more difficult challenge.

To learn more about how to restore security and improve workflow, read this whitepaper on client confidentiality, written by Ken McCall of Boomer Consulting and Laura Ivey of ShareFile. This paper will review some of the major components of the risk associated with handling confidential client information and suggest ways to mitigate it.

Still have questions or want to learn how to protect your clients’ confidentiality? Give us a call today 1-800-441-3453.

Digital file management can alleviate some of these costs, but proprietary storage servers can become quite costly as well. This can be particularly problematic with email. Whenever a file is sent as an attachment by an employee, a copy of the file is saved with the email in Sent Messages, in addition to the original copy stored in the sender’s file system. If the file is sent internally, a third copy is saved in the recipient’s inbox, tripling the space that file occupies on the firm’s server. While the difference may only be a few megabytes for a single file, imagine how often this scenario or similar cases may happen throughout your office in even a single day. Those extra stored copies will add up over time.

Many law firms now look to the cloud for a resolution to these challenges. SaaS (software-as-a-service) providers can help by providing ready-made document storage solutions for firms. With cloud storage, the service provider manages the servers and infrastructure, decreasing the strain on IT resources. A cloud storage solution need not completely replace the firm’s own storage servers to be cost effective. Cloud services provide web-based backup that is completely scalable to the firm’s needs. They can help consolidate storage, as staff can be directed to the cloud to access any files that they need. This decreases the need for repetitive email attachments.

Hundreds of law firms have adopted ShareFile as their file storage and transfer provider. The ShareFile service provides an easy to use, web-based portal where legal professionals can share files with coworkers, clients and counsel. ShareFile offers customizable pricing plans to ensure that each firm has the storage and tools that they need to work effectively, and the flexibility to change the plan as storage needs grow.

Contact ShareFile for more information, or try the service with a 30 day free trial.

What do our legal customers say?

“We try cases across the country, and ShareFile helps us easily and securely send important documents and video material to our lawyers, experts, and clients wherever they are. One great advantage we have found during trial is the ability to rapidly have trial video playback edits completed back at the office and sent directly to our lawyers wirelessly in the courtroom. Great time and cost savings!” – Mike Doyle, Doyle Raizner, LLP

Start sharing your important business documents today! Sign up for a free trial and receive double storage (normally available only to our radio listeners). 

Have questions? Give us a call 1-800-441-3453.

When deciding on a cloud file sharing and storage solution for your business, there are several things you should consider. The absolute first consideration is the company itself and who their service was designed for. If you are a business, you must use a business file sharing solution. Consumer solutions were not designed for business use. Sharing files and folders with clients can be a hassle for you and your client if you do not choose the right company. Some consumer file sharing companies will require your client to register before they can view files. To make matters worse, your client may have to pay to view the files because you are sharing storage. Keep in mind, they were built for sharing personal photos and non-secure documents. When evaluating companies it isn’t just a matter of features, you have to think about customer’s privacy and, depending on your industry, compliance as well.

When researching business file sharing solutions, there are some basic features most companies will need, and other features that are based on individual company needs.

Basic Features:

Encrypted in storage and transfer
Many consumer and business file sharing solutions do not encrypt your stored files. Your sensitive business and client files need to be protected. Make sure your files are encrypted in storage and transfer.

Ability to send large files
Are file size and upload times important to your organization? Sending files over 1GB or 2GB can be a hassle. Make sure the company you chose can handle your file size requirements and be able to send them quickly.

Number of users
Some companies charge per user, but pricing plans vary widely based on the file sharing company. For peace of mind, you may want to search for plans that allow unlimited users.

Easy to set up, manage and track your files
Is the file sharing solution web-based or do you need to download software? Does it work on PC and MAC? Will I know, and be able to record, when files are opened? Many people do not think about these questions, but they are very important to consider.

Customer Support
It is very likely that you will need support at some point no matter which company you choose. For businesses, world-class support is a must. Check Twitter, Facebook, support pages and unbiased reviews. Don’t forget to ask about support hours.

Free trial
Make sure the company offers a free trial and then sign up. This may be a long term commitment so make sure the company meets your needs and is there when you need them. Go a step further and call with a question. See how long it takes for support to pick up the phone and answer your question.

Additional Features:

In addition to the basics, you should write down your specific needs. Write down your “must have” features and then write down features you would like to have. Here are some examples:

Mobility
iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry or Windows Phone. Does the company allow seamless access to all files and folders in your account so you can send/receive files anytime, anywhere?

IT control
Control who can open, send and receive complete client or project folders or individual files. Turn access on and off as needed. Are you in complete control?

Sync
Sync your files on all of your devices, including PCs, Mac, tablets and mobile phones.

Audit logs
No matter how sophisticated your tracking needs are, can you generate the reports you need quickly? Do you need a complete record of file usage?

Custom design
Do you send files to clients? If you can send a file from your branded website versus a third party site, you will build credibility with your clients.

Some additional considerations:

Enterprise customers may have their own set of needs and wants, but you need to decide what is right for your business. Is the company a HIPAA Business Associate? Where do they fit in with GLBA, or other compliance regulations? Is server location or full IT control a factor?

Narrow down your searches and then call and speak to a representative. Discuss your needs with each company that you are evaluating and find out who is willing to understand and meet your needs.

Check out this short video on how Doyle Raizner implemented ShareFile into its daily operations.

You may be wondering what it means to be “in the cloud.”  Cloud computing offers your firm all of the same benefits as traditional legal services do, with the convenience of being able to send or receive your files from virtually anywhere.  It also offers you piece of mind knowing that the confidential case information you are storing is locked away safe online in a password-protected portal.

ShareFile may be the cloud solution you never knew existed – allowing you to store, send, and receive your legal clients’ important documents seamlessly.  By simply logging on to your personal ShareFile account, you can organize your clients by name and create subfolders for each specific set of documents.  You can also send and request files to and from your clients directly through ShareFile, without ever having to pick up the phone or close your browser window to notify the client by email.  Sign your law firm up for a free ShareFile trial today – the only drawback you’ll experience is wondering what took you so long to manage your clients in the cloud.

Favorite Folders: With ShareFile, you have access to an infinite number of folders and subfolders but you are bound to have a few big projects you are working on or a couple of your largest clients who you’d like to have quick and easy access to. With our Favorite Folders feature you can select certain folders within your account to be shown on the right navigation pane of your Home page which saves you from searching through your entire folder directory.

Folder Sorting: By default, files and folders are displayed so that the most recent items are listed first but we understand that sometimes you want your files in alphabetical order or sorted by creator. Within your account, you have the ability to sort your files and folders by Title, Size, Date Uploaded, or by Creator. You can change your sort order for an individual folder by clicking into that folder and choosing ‘Edit Folder Options.’ Or, if you’d prefer to make an account-wide sort order then you can visit the ‘Admin’ tab and choose ‘Advanced Preferences’—Sort Order is towards the bottom and can be set there, but don’t forget to save!

File Retention Policy: Is your folder growing out of control? Do you no longer need those older files in your folder? You can set a retention policy so that files are automatically deleted after a certain period of time. Once the files are deleted, they aren’t gone for good so need to worry; all files deleted can be restored from your Recycle Bin for up to 7 days. Now you can clear up your afternoon and leave the deleting to us!

Thumbnail View: Are you sharing images or prefer viewing thumbnails of your files? You can easily switch from ‘List View’ to ‘Thumb View’ on the Home page under ‘Add Folder.’ Certain types of files can be previewed within your ShareFile account without having to be downloaded; to see a full list of supported file types, click on ‘Thumbnail View.’

Consolidated Folder Notifications: Are you getting too many notification alerts from your users uploading and downloading? Don’t turn Folder Notifications off—they can be extremely useful! Instead, try consolidating them to only once or twice a day. Users can set how frequently they receive email notifications from ShareFile under the ‘My Settings’ link on the navigation bar.

Have more questions about folders? Contact your personal account manager for assistance relating specifically to your account. Not yet a ShareFile customer? Sign up for a free trial to test out for yourself.

Greymane is a medium-sized general contracting company that services the hospitality industry as well as commercial, institutional, and high-end residential markets. The company regularly bids on different projects, and exchanges a large volume of documents and drawings. “These documents frequently go out to dozens of subcontractors and suppliers for pricing,” says Alex.

The company was challenged with the high cost of printing prior to ShareFile.  Alex tells me that in one year, Greymane spent more than $50,000 with a local printer.  Not only was the company spending a significant amount on printing costs, but it was also using valuable time in the process.

Alex says, “Before ShareFile, it would take us the better part of 3 or 4 days to get done what now happens instantaneously. We really needed an efficient way to make inquiries with subcontractors and suppliers for various elements of a project and luckily, we found our solution in ShareFile.”

With password-protected access Greymane can be confident about security and have complete control over which suppliers and subcontractors have access to projects. Employees at the company can monitor activity by tracking exactly which documents have been downloaded, at what time, and by whom.

“To put it simply, ShareFile has paid for itself tenfold,” says Alex.

If you’d like to see how others in the construction industry are using ShareFile, check out this ShareFile customer testimonial on our YouTube channel.

Keeping your account up to date: Has your website changed since your account was customized? Our branding team can update your account branding whenever you have a new logo or website design to make sure that your ShareFile account is current and familiar to your clients. If you want to get an update, you can email support@sharefile.com and let us know, and we can set this up for you. Customizing the look of your account is always a complimentary part of the service, so there’s no charge for the update, and we can usually display the new branding within one business day.

Feeling creative? You can also login to the account to update your own branding. Any employee user who has permissions to edit the branding can log in, click the ‘Admin’ link, and then click ‘Edit Custom Branding’ to use all of the same settings and options that our graphics team uses to update your account.

Including a message about your business in outgoing emails: There are two places where ShareFile inserts text about our service in outgoing emails. The first is the following paragraph, which is included in most emails that go out from our system:

ShareFile is a tool for sending, receiving, and organizing your business files online. It can be used as a password-protected area for sharing information with clients and partners, and it’s an easy way to send files that are too large to e-mail.

We use this message to help explain what you are sending to any recipients who may not be familiar with our service, but some accounts prefer to explain this in their own way or to edit the text to focus on their own business.

You can change the text that displays in this paragraph, which we call the ‘Email Overview’, by logging in to your account and clicking the ‘Admin’ section, and then clicking ‘Edit Custom Branding’. On this screen, you can expand the ‘Email Branding’ screen, and enter text in the ‘Email Overview Text’ field. Whatever you enter here will exactly replace the paragraph listed above in all outgoing emails.

On this screen, you can also edit the email footer. By default, we place a small footer reading ‘Powered by ShareFile’ to all outgoing emails from the system. If you would like to include different text, such as a disclaimer, you can enter in the ‘Email Footer Text’ field to replace the current text.

Integrating your ShareFile account in your own website: If you want to drive more traffic to your website and use ShareFile to transfer files, there are a number of ways that you can direct ShareFile traffic to your website:

Logging in: You can place a login box for your account on your website so that you can ask users to go to your site to log in, rather than to ShareFile.com or your account login page. To do so, you can login, click ‘Admin’ in the top navigation bar, and then click ‘Login Code Sample’. This page will give you the basic HTML code that can be copied to the code for your site to add the log in box.

Linking to files and folders: You can create links to let visitors to your files or folders on your website so that they can download files that you want to share with everyone. To set up the links, you can log in to your account, and open the folder where the files that you want to link to are stored. Check off the files that you want to include. You can also check off whole folders if you want to link to them. Then, click the ‘Send’ button. You can select to get a link that you can copy and send, and then make sure that the link settings are the way that you want them. When you click ‘Next Step’, you will be given a link that you can copy and paste into the code for your site to let visitors download files from the link.

Making an upload form: If you often use the ShareFile service to receive files, you can create an upload form on your website, so that you can ask people to go to your own site to upload files to you. This allows the user to go directly to your website, select the files to send to you, and transfer the files without ever having to leave the site. We can help you create custom code for the upload form within your account. To set up a form, you can login, click ‘Admin’ in the top navigation bar, and then click ‘Remote Upload Wizard’. The Wizard will take you through the settings that you can create for your upload form and give you the code, which can be copied and pasted into the HTML code for your site.

Running your ShareFile account through your own website: If you would like to let users login and use your account without ever leaving your website, you can also run your ShareFile account in an iframe on your site. For help with the code for the iframe, please contact ShareFile Support with any questions.

Redirecting back to your website: You can also change your account settings so that when a user logs out of your account, they automatically return to your website. You can make this change in the ‘Admin’ section under ‘Edit Custom Branding’. If you expand the ‘Miscellaneous’ section, you can enter your own website in the ‘Logo URL’ field. This will send users to your website if they click on your logo in the top left-hand corner of the screen, or if they log out of the account.

As you can see, your ShareFile account can be a seamless part of your service to clients. If you have any questions about advanced branding features or just want to get custom branding set up for your account, please contact ShareFile support.

Dynamic folder templates can be found through the “Admin” link in the top navigation bar of a firm’s account. By selecting this option, you are able to create a template for new folders and subfolders. When creating a new folder in the system, you are able to select this template and use it as the basis for this new client’s folder. You can have an unlimited number of folder templates available for different types of clients depending on what your needs are.
Folder templates will need to be turned on by your Account Manager or a member of our Support team. To have this enabled, please contact your Account Manager directly or contact our Support team at support@sharefile.com.

ShareFile has robust reporting that can help your business save time, manage usage, and even help with Sarbanes-Oxley compliancy.

Once logged in, click on “Admin” in top right navigation bar, then click on “Reporting” in right navigation. This will take you to your Account Reporting Dashboard. You can see a high level view of your users, clients, storage space, and bandwidth usage.

Under “Details” click “+Create Report”

Report Number 5 – Usage Report. Check employee or client activity. This is also a great customer service tool. You can check to see which clients have downloaded, or not downloaded, the file you sent. If it has been several days and the file has not been downloaded, you can contact them to see if they need assistance. It is a great reminder to download the file and your client will appreciate the attention to detail. Usage reports can also be helpful audit tools. Have you ever had a client say that they didn’t receive information that you thought that they had, or wanted to double-check when a team member last updated a file? The Usage Report gives you facts such as the exact time and IP address where an upload or download took place to help answer any questions that may come up as a natural result of collaboration.

A small box will appear that shows Report Type “Usage Report.” Click next step. You will have the option to change the report, the date, and activity types. For now, leave as is (definitely test the other settings later), and click next step.

Another small box will appear with a great feature, “Scheduling.” This will schedule the report automatically if you wish. If you click “Recurring” you will have the option to run the report automatically daily, weekly, or monthly and if you click email notice, it will come right to you. Click “Create Report” and view the results. You can view the report in many different ways, HTML, Excel, CSV, or PDF. Again, play with the settings and customize it based on your needs.

Report Number 4 – Access Audit Report. This report is great if you must be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant. You can show who had access to which folder and their level of access to these folders. This information, combined with a “Storage Report”(which I cover later), can help prove full disclosure of necessary financial documents. This report will also save you a lot of time if you want to check that all folder permissions on the account are correct before sending out login information, since it combines all of the Folder Access information for the account in one place.

From the dashboard, click create report. Choose “Access Audit” from the drop down and click next step. From here you can obtain a report on the entire account, each user, or each folder. Click next step to scheduling. You can schedule this report as well, but for now click “Create Report” and choose you method to view the report. You have many options to view this report as well.

Report Number 3 – Virtual Data Room Click Trails Report. If you have our Virtual Data Room, this report is a detailed account report of usage. Click Trails can be a great tool in helping you gauge potential bidder interest when working on a deal, as you can see what users are interested in browsing and how much time they are investing in reviewing specific documents. If you want to be able to make the most of your sale, this information can help you determine what details to focus on when speaking with different bidders and weed out parties with casual interest from serious potential buyers.

Click “Admin” on the top navigation, then “Click Trials” in right navigation. Select the time frame from the “View Trials for” drop down. You can see a list of users on this page. If you click on “View Session” associated with each user, you can view user activity in click trail form. You can see the steps that a user took, viewing folders and files, along with their log-in and log-out times.

Report Number 2 – Reports in the Folder Screen. Besides seeing reports under “Admin,” you can view and individual reports on the folders screen. Folder activity reports are available to any folder administrator, so these reports can be great tools for any employee who does not have access to run account-wide reports, but may need to check usage for their clients or coworkers within project folders. This allows employee users to maintain greater autonomy in managing their own project folders and client follow up, and can reduce the need for a central administrator to help employee users with questions about the account.

While on your “Home” screen, click on an individual folder. On the right side of the screen, click on “View Activity Log.” You will be able to select all users or an individual user of that folder, set a date range, and activity type (downloads, uploads, deletions, etc…) of that specific folder or sub-folders. Once you have it set the way you want, click on “Export to Excel” button, choose if you want just that folder and/or sub-folders, and click “ok” when the Excel prompt pops up.

Report Number 1 – The Storage Report. Wondering where all of your storage is getting used up? The Storage report is basically a complete overview of the projects everyone is working on and how much storage they are using. In addition to allowing you to check that all necessary files are available and in order on your account, you can also use this report to help decide which files may no longer be needed on the account. This will help you cut down on your account storage use to save money on your plan or prevent overage fees.

After clicking “Admin” and “Create Report,” select “Storage” from the drop down menu. Click “Next Step” and you will have the option to create the report on the entire account or folder and set date. For now, leave settings as they are and click “Next Step” to scheduling. Same as the previous reports, you can schedule this report. Click “Create Report” and how you want to view the data, HTML, Excel, CSV, or PDF. You can now see the file size of each folder. It is a great way to audit your account and see if there are files that are using up a lot of space that you may no longer need.

As always, if you ever need help with your account, including report generation, please do not hesitate to contact your account manager.

If there are other reports that you found useful and would like to share with others, please comment below.

When creating new employees or editing current employees, you will be given a list of administrative options that can be enabled or disabled for a particular user. This page can be seen below:

More information about these permissions and how to update administrative options for your employees can be found through our Knowledge Base here.

If there are any questions or issues, please contact your Account Manager or our Support staff.

With ShareFile’s new folder invitation feature, folder administrators will be able to send a link granting full folder access to as many email recipients as they would like without having to set the users up with folder access first. This feature is designed to make it easier for folder administrators to grant access to folders to a large group of users. These invitations will allow interested parties to sign up for gain access to folders within a ShareFile account. At the same time, we have also made updates to the “Remember Me” check box on the Login screen of a ShareFile account. Now, the check box reads “Keep me logged in,” as opposed to “Remember Me;” by selecting this option, the ShareFile account will save the email address and password of the user so that it will be automatically filled in whenever you login using the same browser on your computer. For any new accounts opened on the 16th of May or after, the box will read “Remember Me,” but this box will only save the user’s email address, and not their password. This update is designed to improve security within an account because the user must enter their ShareFile password each time they login. Accounts created prior to the 16th of May can also have this setting updated by contacting our Support team at support@sharefile.com. Finally, this month, our Development teams made a number of new account settings available, including the ability to limit file versions, create case-sensitive passwords and limit IP addresses. In limiting file versions, administrators can change the number of copies of a file that will be saved as separate versions on a folder. Case-sensitive passwords can also be enforced on an account-wide basis and accounts may now also limit account activity to a given number of IP addresses. This allows accounts to limit file access and to discourage distribution to external users. To change both the password settings in your account or to limit the IP addresses accessing your account, please contact ShareFile Support at support@sharefile.com.

Each one of these feature enhancements significantly increases your ability to manage your ShareFile account and each one was a result of customer feedback. If there are any new upgrades or suggestions on how we can help you to better manage your account, please contact us or email suggestions@sharefile.com.