Syncplicity

Introducing Syncplicity Group Sharing and Permissions

We are excited to launch our Group Sharing and Permissions beta! 

Businesses are rapidly adopting file sync, sharing and mobility solutions as a new way to enable employees to access their files on all of their devices (online or offline) and more seamlessly collaborate without having to drag-and-drop files to special folders or file servers, or check them in and out of content management systems.

This trend has led many business users to adopt consumer-oriented tools but there are many drawbacks, including the lack of centralized policies to control sharing and lack of visibility for Admins to see what company files are being shared (and to whom). As the business scales, these tools can also create information silos as new users are added but don't have access to the information they need. And they put the business at risk if members leave a group but still have access to files. 

Syncplicity Group Sharing and Permissions builds upon our existing business/enterprise-class security and compliance features to allow IT/Admins to centrally manage groups of users, make sure they have access to shared folders they need, and make sure they are removed from ones they do not. Here is a quick overview of the new capabilities:

Easy Group Sharing

• Users can easily share folders with centrally created group(s) and/or individuals
• Auto-fill makes selection quick and easy
• Granular permissions allow users to share folders with groups in read-only or read-write mode
• New group members gain access to all previously shared folders and can sync them anywhere on their computer
• Removed members lose access to shared folders
• Users don’t have to un-share folders when group members leave
• Syncplicity protects users from permanent deletions as folders are shared to larger groups because only a folder owner can permanently delete files

For IT professionals and Admins Syncplicity makes group management a breeze:

• Admins create and manage groups centrally
• New users can be added to groups and gain immediate access to all folders previously shared with the group
• Admins can see which folders have been shared with each group including who owns the folder and permission level
• Users who are removed from a group lose access to shared folders automatically
• Groups adhere to existing Syncplicity security and compliance policies
• Data retention policies (remote wipe of data) can be enforced for removed users
• Admins can share folders from on-premise file servers so members of the group get online, offline, and mobile access to those folders without having to map drives or configure a VPN

We are excited about how these new features make it easier for businesses to deploy organization-wide, secure file sync, sharing and mobility solutions while avoiding the pitfalls of consumer-based solutions or rigid content management solutions. 

Syncplicity customers interested in participating in the beta program can register at https://syncplicity.wufoo.com/forms/m7x1s1/ for additional details. 

The Syncplicity Team

Mac Attack

We've been hard at work over the past few months on Syncplicity for Mac. We're really excited about the possibilities for Syncplicity on the Mac platform, and so far we've had a great response from our helpful and dedicated group of beta testers. Most Syncplicity operations are available, and we're moving quickly to complete our set of features before making Syncplicity available to all Mac users. Over the course of this project, we've learned a great deal about the Mac world. You'll see this illustrated in a number of features, including:

• Single- and multi-selection aware Finder context menus.
• Menu bar and dock item access to common Syncplicity functionality.
• Native user interface throughout the application, not an ugly imitation of a Mac interface.

So far, we've been focused on making synchronization as solid as possible. Now, we're working on building a more powerful and intuitive user interface. Stay tuned for future updates.

Now accepting applications for the Syncplicity Mac beta!

About a year ago, we made the hard decision to withdraw the Mac Beta Client. It was difficult to see many of you go, but we knew we wanted to provide our users with a better, faster, and more reliable tool. For many months, the engineering team has been hard at work at the Mac client - eager to address the needs of our Mac user population, and eager to build a Mac client that meets the highest of expectations. They're excited to show you the results of their labor - but we need to test it with a larger group of users and get your feedback first! We are excited to let you know that we are opening up the Mac Beta Client for the first round of beta testers. We are looking for a small pool of Mac users to test this product. Interested? Apply to be a Mac Beta Tester here. We look forward to having you test the Mac Beta Client! Edit (5/11/2010): We have just contacted the users who are accepted into the first Mac Beta period. If you're still interested, please sign up for the next round of testing. We'll be in touch over the next few weeks!

Mac Client Withdrawal

Today, we’ve made the decision to withdraw our Mac Beta Client. As of today, the Mac Beta Client is no longer available for new users to download. Existing users of the Mac Beta Client can continue to use it until July 31st at which time service will be discontinued. Syncplicity was founded to provide a rich and reliable synchronization, sharing, collaboration, and backup service. One of the key cornerstones we aim for is an exceptional client experience. One of the main purposes for a Beta is to help perform full testing and validation in real world scenarios. What has become clear to us is while the Mac Beta Client can run well in many scenarios and computer configurations, there are also many for which it doesn’t work well. Over the past few months we’ve been taking a close look at the unexpected issues that some of you have experienced. Unfortunately what we found is that the fixes entail almost a rewrite in many cases -- a process that would take many months to a year. We want everything we release to be outstanding and something we’re extremely proud to offer our users. It’s clear now the Mac Beta Client isn’t there yet, so we will be withdrawing it for reengineering. We will reassess our schedule for redevelopment next year. For those of you who have signed up for a yearly account, you will be able to cancel and receive a full refund of your $99 subscription fee. For those who have signed up for a monthly account, you will be able to cancel and receive a refund for the most recent month. Details on how to do so will be e-mailed directly to you in the coming days, but you must request a refund no later than December 31st, 2009. If you have any questions, we’ve set up a dedicated e-mail for you: macbeta@syncplicity.com. Obviously like all companies, our intention is for Beta software to always become Final Release software. But it’s just as important to recognize and admit when software doesn’t meet our high quality bar.  Our decision to withdraw the Mac Beta Client will allow us to step back to do things much better in the future. While it isn’t an easy decision for us, it is the right decision.  We do want to express our apologies for any and all inconveniences this may have caused each of you.  We do hope that you give us another chance to deliver future products that meet the level of excellence reflective our existing ones. Sincerely, Leonard -- Leonard Chung, CEO

Mac Beta is out!

Today we are excited to announce the publicly available Syncplicity Mac Beta Client!  With this release, Syncplicity users can share files between their Windows and Mac computers with ease. Any file changes made on one computer will sync to the other computer. For those of you coming from backup products, there is no schedule option for Syncplicity.  The client watches your files for changes and uploads the new versions immediately, it doesn't wait a minimum of 4 hours like you may be used to.  And for those using other 'one folder' sync products, you do not have to move all your documents to a new folder.  Syncplicity will sync them wherever they are now. Just like with the Windows version, any Mac folder can become a Syncplicity folder by right clicking the folder and adding it to Syncplicity.  Once it's a Syncplicity folder, the Syncplicity client will watch the folder for changes and immediately synchronize the changes to your other computers.  New and updated files will be securely backed up by Syncplicity, past revisions will be available on the Syncplicity website, and the latest versions will be sync'ed to your other computers. Our Windows users will immediately recognize the Syncplicity icon sitting pretty in the menu bar.  Syncplicity communicates its status through the menu icon and the grayed lines in the pop-down menu.  For the geekier users, you can find out what Syncplicity is up to by watching the trace window. If you have a Mac, give the new beta a whirl.  As this is a beta, please send us feedback! Happy Sync'ing! Isaac

Access Your Files from Your iPhone

2/9/10 update: Looking to use Syncplicity on the iPhone? Check out MKSync, a third-party application, on the iTunes store! Today, we're excited to announce that all the files you're backing up & syncing with Syncplicity are available from your iPhone!  We made an optimized version of our website just for our iPhone (and iPod Touch) users.  The website currently lets you view documents, photos, and hear your mp3s. If you have an iPhone, here's what you'll see when you login and try to open the San Francisco Muni Map PDF: To view the site, navigate to the Syncplicity Mobile site on your iPhone.  The https://my.syncplicity.com site redirects if it detects you're on an iPhone.  And be sure to add it to your home screen for easier access by clicking the plus icon and clicking "Add to Home Screen." Let us know if you're using it and how you'd like to see it extended. Cheers, Isaac

Syncplicity Pricing

The Short Story (for those of you in a hurry)

Update: We haven't forgotten about those of you in our beta! If you had a Syncplicity beta account as of June 30th and you choose to convert to a free account, it will have twice the normal space (4 GB). If you choose to convert to an Individual Subscription, it will have ten additional gigabytes of space for 50 GB total. New beta accounts without an invite code will have 2 GB for free accounts and 45 GB for Individual Subscriptions. Many of you have been asking for final pricing and giving tons of great feedback on our initial pricing plans. We've been working hard to understand and incorporate your feedback. I'm happy to announce that we've finished crunching all of the numbers. Below is Syncplicity's pricing and account types: Free: Free forever. Allows up to two computers, 5 revisions per file or 30 days of previous revisions (whichever is less), up to 10,000 files, and 2 GB of storage. The free account expires after 60 days of inactivity. Individual Subscription: $9.99 per month or $99 per year. Includes unlimited computers, unlimited file versions, unlimited number of files, and 40 GB of storage. Additional Storage: $9.99 per month or $99 per year for 50 GB of storage. You can add this to your account as many times as you'd like to have even more storage. An important part of Syncplicity's growth has been through word of mouth and friends inviting friends. I'm happy to say Syncplicity now has a referral program as well where you can get additional storage bonuses added to your account for every new person that you refer to Syncplicity. Full details are available here.

What Happened to Unlimited Storage?

Initially, we started with a plan to charge around $20 per month for unlimited storage. The value of Syncplicity is the experience it provides and the fact that it makes your files "active", not the "passive" storage you can get by using a USB hard drive or an FTP site. Our aim with unlimited storage was to move the worry and cost away from storage in order to focus on the experience being delivered. With your help, we've come up with pricing that allows for a free account and a monthly price as low as $8.25 while still providing enough storage that the basic plan covers the majority of users. We got lots of feedback from across the Syncplicity community that really boiled down to three themes:

1. A trial isn't enough. There needs to be a free version.
2. Many of you felt you don't have enough data to take advantage of an unlimited plan.
3. There should be a lower initial price than $20 per month.

With these three pieces of feedback in mind, we went back to the drawing board to address it. While this new pricing may mean Syncplicity is more expensive for a few of you, for the vast majority of users, the price of Syncplicity is lower than before and we're now able to offer free accounts. We hope you like the new pricing. We worked hard to incorporate your feedback and we hope this new pricing addresses much of the comments you've given us! Leonard

Improved online file browser

We're excited to announce an improved online file browser for files you're synchronizing with Syncplicity.  In this release we made the following improvements:

• Recycle a file/folder - Moves a file to the Recycle Bin online and on your local computers
• Permanently delete a file/folder - Completely remove a file from Syncplicity's backup
• Empty Syncplicity Recycle Bin - Clears all deleted files from Syncplicity's backup
• Add New Directory - Create a new directory from the online browser
• New navigation buttons: Back & Forward, and Up Directory
• Improved the tree navigation and fixed several bugs

Here's a shot of the new file browser in action: There's a brand new pop-out menu on files.  You can either right-click on a file/folder or click the little Syncplicity icon to bring it up.  Right now, we have a few options in the menu and we're planning several more.  Here's the menu in action: And here's the menu when you're browsing deleted files in the Syncplicity Recycle Bin: We're excited to publish these updates as they're based on a lot of user feedback.  Keep sending us your suggestions! - Isaac

Welcome!

On behalf of the Syncplicity team, welcome to the Syncplicity blog! We will be posting the latest and greatest news, useful tips and tricks, and some of our thoughts so you can see some of our thinking as Syncplicity grows and moves out of beta. Along with myself, Syncplicity's other co-founders, Ondrej and Isaac, will be posting on here as well. They'll be introducing themselves shortly. We have some topics lined up over the next few weeks, but if you have any questions or topics you're interested in, post up a message in the Syncplicity Forums. We'll be taking interesting questions and hot topics from the forums and covering them in more detail here. I'm very excited about this new blog. It's my hope that you'll find this informative and have as much fun reading it as we have writing it! Leonard Chung - CEO

The New Syncplicity Blog

We publicly launched on April 15th, 2008.  Most Americans know this day as tax day but for us it was a great day.  We finally got to reveal our site and service to everyone.  We've been working hard since launch to incorporate all your feedback.  Since then, we've worked to make the service easier to use and understand and work just like you'd expect.  Continue sending us feedback and we'll do our best to improve this service. We're starting this blog so we can share some of our ideas with you.  We also want to let you in on a little inside information as we go along.  Stay tuned.