Originally Published at Troop Messenger 

I am sure you receive a ‘storage full’ warning once in a while unless your device is equipped with a cloud file-sharing system.

Receiving these storage warnings can be frustrating, especially when you’ve important files that you cannot risk losing.

That’s where File Sharing Sites come into the picture. With these storage systems, you can transfer large-sized files conveniently, simplify server upkeep, and easily collaborate on-the-go.

Cloud File sharing, apart from individual users, has also become a key function in Enterprise use, which explains why:

• 39% of cloud business data is used for file-sharing purposes.
• 34% of uploaded data have sensitive and confidential information that includes personally identifiable information.
• An average company shares documents and files with over 800 different online domains.

What is File Sharing with pros and cons

With File Sharing Software, users can have controlled and centralized visibility of files at different stages of the data lifecycle, which helps with finding, protecting, editing, sharing, and managing sensitive data at any point in time.

Pros of File Sharing

• Transfer small & large files over a secure network connection.
• Easily collaborate with multiple people across the globe.
• No need to maintain a central online file server

Cons of File Sharing

• Bandwidth requirement is often costly.
• Hard to trace revisions once the file has been shared publicly.
• Higher risk of acquiring malware or ransomware from a remote file

Types of File Sharing:

• File transfer protocol programs (FTP):
  Example: Cyberduck, Mozilla Firefox

• Peer-to-peer networks:
  Example: Skype, Slack, Troop Messenger

• Removable storage media
  Example: Memory sticks, memory cards, optical discs, and removable hard disks

• Online file-sharing services
  Example: Box, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Tresorit

How to Select Your Platform: 

Choosing an appropriate File sharing Platform is all about understanding the storage, sharing, and synchronization needs of your enterprise.

You’d need a thorough understanding of all the key features, pros, and cons of each file-sharing software to make a final selection.

In this article, we’ve done the same. Consider this article a directory of top shortlisted file sharing sites. Go through the pros, cons, and pricing, of each tool and select your ideal platform, keeping in mind the following features:

• Security and Encryption
• Compatibility on different OS and Devices
• Storage Limitations
• Pricing

Box

Box was literally the first-ever cloud-based media storage service and file-sharing sites to grab the attention. Box allowed it’s users to centralize all their data. It also offered easy collaboration on documents shared.

It is now known as secure content management and business collaboration tool.

Pros:

• Meets compliance requirement
• Integrated with an enterprise security system
• Allows Workflow Configuration
• Work at unprecedented Speed

Cons

• Starter plans have very limited features
• File previewing from computers and devices is complex

Pricing:

• Individual Plans: Starts at INR 785 per month
• Business Plans: Starts at INR 389 per user per month
• Business Plus: Starts at INR 1881 per user per month

Ideal For:

Enterprises and Large-Scale companies that require organisation of huge data systems across different locations.