Syncplicity

Active Directory Integration Simplifies Syncplicity Administration

Syncplicity joins forces with the industry’s top two federated identity solutions: OneLogin and Ping Identity’s PingFederate to make it easier than ever to bring a secure, easy-to-use file sync and sharing solution to the enterprise. These integrations enable real-time, automated provisioning and de-provisioning of Syncplicity accounts based on centralized Active Directory changes.

Federated Identity Management with Syncplicity

Maintaining the security and trustworthiness of user accounts across an increasing number of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications quickly becomes a headache. Administrators must onboard and off board users across many applications with different consoles and management tools. Federated Identity Management solutions provide a secure infrastructure to do this easily.

• OneLogin provides secure identity management, single sign-on and automated user provisioning solutions for organizations of all sizes via a cloud-based offering.
• Ping Identity’s PingFederate delivers single sign-on and identity management via a behind the firewall, on-premise application.

With strong relationships with leading enterprise solution providers, Syncplicity delivers unmatched flexibility and control to the enterprise for online file sync and sharing. 

Easy Set Up for Cloud-based File Sharing

It’s easy to set up a new or existing Syncplicity account to be integrated with either OneLogin or PingFederate, depending on whether you need a cloud-based or on-premise identity management solution.

1. Set up your Syncplicity Enterprise Edition account.
2. Set up your OneLogin or Ping Identity account.
3. Login to OneLogin or Ping Identity Add Syncplicity to your
4. Set policies such as remote wipe, delete and deactivate settings in Syncplicity.
5. Map Active Directory groups that will be automatically provisioned with Syncplicity accounts, as needed. 
6. Roll-out Syncplicity to your enterprise.
7. Automatically provision accounts in real-time in Syncplicity when users are added to specified security groups or organization units (OUs) within your Active Directory tree.
8. Automatically, de-provision accounts in real-time in Syncplicity when users are disabled or deleted in Active Directory or moved out of your defined provisioning context.

Streamlined Account Administration and Security

With the OneLogin or PingFederate integration, changes to Active Directory accounts are automatically applied to Syncplicity accounts in real time without duplication of effort.  

• Provision Syncplicity accounts to thousands or tens of thousands of users already managed in Active Directory.
• Provide instant access to Syncplicity when a new user is created in Active Directory.
• Revoke access to Syncplicity immediately when a user’s account is deactivated or deleted in Active Directory.
• Provision Syncplicity to specific groups like marketing or engineering directly from Active Directory.
• Roll out Syncplicity progressively to groups or organization units defined in Active Directory.
• Mapping Syncplicity account provisioning to Active Directory groups makes it easier to manage licensing and resources.
• Remote wipe automatically when an account is deleted in Active Directory, permanently removing files from all connected devices.

Seamless File Sharing for Windows 8 New UI

We love the speed and fluidity of the Windows 8 New UI and have taken full advantage of it with the new Syncplicity app for Windows 8 devices. Now, you can add Microsoft Surface and all other Windows 8 devices to your supported device list for enterprise file sync and sharing with confidence.      

 

 

A New Home Page on Microsoft Surface

Get acquainted with the Syncplicity mobile app for Windows 8  from our new, optimized home page. We make it easier than ever to share a file, access updated files, check storage, and find favorites from your Syncplicity home page. Use the Share charm to instantly share a file using Syncplicity. Like our app for Windows Phone 8, we’ve added optional pin code access for extra security on your device.

 

Built for the Enterprise

Yes, our apps are easy and fun to use. But, make no mistake, they are enterprise grade through and through. Syncplicity mobile apps support single sign-on (SSO) authentication, mobile security policies, and Syncplicity IT controls, including remote wipe. IT administrators have complete visibility into what’s shared and what resides on the device. Plus it’s platform agnostic—and runs equally well on x86 or ARM-based devices.

Check out the video for a demonstration of the new Synplicity App for Windows 8!

Download the new Syncplicity App for Windows 8 today and let us know what you think!

The Syncplicity Team

Syncplicity Now Integrated with SlideShark

We are excited to announce that Syncplicity is now integrated with SlideShark, the award-winning PowerPoint app from Brainshark, Inc.

The integration makes it easy for mobile teams to have access to all of their presentations in the cloud and be able to present them professionally and reliably from their iOS devices.  With Syncplicity, users have access to their own personal presentations as well as presentations published across their teams, both inside and outside the corporate firewall without having to drag-and-drop files or move them first. You simply save your presentations and they are synced to Syncplicity and the latest version is available on all your devices. 

Users can now link their Syncplicity account to their SlideShark acount and have access to a unified view of all of their PowerPoint files managed by Syncplicity to display them on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch - with fonts, animations, graphics and colors intact. Users can control and navigate content, as well as connect to TVs and projectors to deliver truly powerful presentations.

Key Features 

• SlideShark users will see a cloud icon within their account  which will allow them to link to their Syncplicity account cloud-to-cloud.
• SlideShark users can browse and search for all of the PowerPoint presentations within their Syncplicity account directly from their iOS devices. They can import this content into SlideShark,so they have access to the most current versions of their presentations anytime, anywhere.
• Once imported, users can view and share their presentations with fonts, graphics, animations and colors intact) from their Pad, iPhone or iPod touch.
• SlideShark administrators and users who share files with others have the ability to track usage of shared presentations.
• Syncplicity’s remote-wipe capabilities extend to a user's SlideShark account, providing control to delete specific content in case of a lost, stolen or compromised device. 

Cloud-to-Cloud Policy Enforcement

In addition to providing an amazing user experience for displaying PowerPoint presentations, the Syncplicity and SlideShark integration gives IT professionals the tools they need to protect company files and content on mobile devices.  The integration enables users or IT administrators to “remote wipe” content within Syncplicity – causing corresponding content in a user’s SlideShark account to be automatically deleted without impacting the rest of the user’s business or personal content in SlideShark.

If a device is lost or stolen, or if a user leaves the company, content initially distributed by Syncplicity into a user’s business SlideShark account can be deleted even if IT has lost access to the user or device. This cloud-to-cloud policy enforcement is critical for enabling secure content sharing between cloud apps and supporting BYOD in a business context.

This level of security and control is not something you find in consumer-grade file sync and sharing solutions. You won't even find it in other solutions that supposedly target the enterprise. But with Syncplicity we believe you should not have to compromise between the needs of the user and the needs of IT. 

We hope you are as excited about this new integration as we are!!!

The Syncplicity Team

System of Engagement, Meet System of Record

Guest Blogger: John Mancini, author of Digital Landfill

John Mancini is an author, speaker and respected leader of the AIIM global community of information professionals. He is a catalyst in social, mobile, cloud and big data technology adoption and an advocate for the new generation of experts who are driving the future ofinformation management. John predicts that the next three years will generate more change in the way we deploy enterprise technologies and whom we trust with this task than in the previous two decades. He is President and CEO of AIIM.

 

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I frequently speak with new companies in the content space.  They brief me on their business plans, I offer advice, and they often utilize AIIM services in building awareness of their product.

After one recent such web call, I asked the company for a copy of the presentation they had used in their briefing. They said it was a large file, and would follow-up with an email with a link to the presentation.

About an hour later, I got the promised email with a DropBox link. I clicked on the link, and voila -- a surprise. I wasn't looking at the presentation, but at the top level directory for the company, with folder names like "compensation plan" and "intellectual property" and "strategic plan" and "financing."

Of course, I didn't click any further and called the company immediately and told them what they had done.  They were horrified at the error, and sent me a new link, but I don't think they took the additional step that I wanted them to take, which was to reconsider the wisdom of creating their entire enterprise information infrastructure around a solution that is designed for individual consumers rather than one focused on the "hardened" requirements necessary for a business.

Hello, Systems of Engagement, meet Systems of Record.

The revolution over the past 5 years in mobile, cloud, and social technologies has turned the innovation pyramid on its head (see C-Change: The Impact of the Consumerization of IT).  In the old days, technology innovation occurred within large business and government organizations, and then ultimately tricked down into the consumer sector. We are now in exactly the opposite situation, and business and government organizations are struggling with how to respond.

We call these technologies Systems of Engagement.  Once all those senior executives got iPADs for holiday presents in December 2010, and showed up at their IT departments after the holidays and asked, "How can we connect this to our business systems?" and "How can I get the documents from my laptop onto this device when I am on the road?" the game changed forever.

The initial reaction of organizations to this revolution was either denial ("We have a policy prohibiting use of Dropbox and similar file sharing tools, therefore the problem doesn't exist.") or outright opposition ("We do not and will not allow unauthorized devices to connect to enterprise systems.")

One of my fundamental principles relative to the flow of information is that the needs of the business to get "stuff" done will always trump the desire of IT to keep things under their control.  And so the initial effort of the business to tap into the benefits of Systems of Engagement was somewhat haphazard and in spite of IT rather than because of it, and if connections existed back to our legacy Systems of Record, it was more by accident than by design.

Enter cloud technologies.  And despite a level of hype and FUD that is second only to "big data," I think the cloud offers a new framework to think about the links between Systems of Record and Systems of Engagement and how to create a new path forward. There are two important ways our thinking about the cloud needs to change.

The first important step in thinking constructively about the cloud is to stop thinking about it in "either/or" terms relative to on-premise solutions.  "Are you going to move from on-premises to the cloud?" and "When are you going to switch to the cloud?" are the wrong questions to ask, especially in large organizations. The right question is "How are you going to create a hybrid strategy that taps into the advantages of the cloud, but allows you to maintain control of your information?"

The second step is to take a concept that we know and understand from the world of apps and email -- syncing -- and make it core to how we understand the management of information assets in and with the cloud. It doesn't seem too long ago that syncing our email when we came "on-line" after being "off-line" was a big deal.  We had to actually think about it.  It was a bit of a pain. But now we don't give it a second thought. 

There is a tendency to think of Systems of Record as synonymous with on-premise systems, and Systems of Engagement as synonymous with the cloud. We need to think about the cloud not as separate from our Systems of Record, but perhaps as the "place" where information assets are synced across systems and devices.

Syncing in the cloud in the context of information assets is the core concept we need to adopt in thinking about how the cloud might address these three "Systems of Engagement" challenges:

1. The challenge of BYOD.  How do I give my users the power and flexibility (and for the enterprise, cost savings, too) to use all of those phones and tablets they love for business? We need to exert control over information assets within our on-premise systems (what can be synced and to whom?), but use syncing in the cloud as the vehicle to move that information onto mobile devices -- and eventually to get it back off again. 
2. The challenge of mobile capture.  Syncing also works the other way, too. All those powerful mobile devices with 8 MP cameras offer a host of opportunities to bring information capture closer than ever to the point of information creation.  That's a good thing, and it opens up countless new opportunities to streamline processes. 
3. The challenge of accessing information from SaaS solutions. You've implemented Salesforce (or any other powerful enterprise solution in the cloud). You want to connect your Salesforce implementation to information in an on-premise SharePoint repository.  Are you going to tunnel through the corporate firewall to this information?  I don't think so.  I think a better way of conceptualizing this is by thinking about how you use the cloud to sync the appropriate information.

A few data points from our recent Industry Watch Content in the Cloud: Making the Right Decision illustrate some of these user requirements:

• 30% are seeing increasing use of unofficial cloud content management and file shares. Only 5% have an “official” cloud-based option. 19% prevent access to non-approved sites.
• Of those organizations with a defined cloud strategy, 20% intend to move their document and content management systems completely to the cloud, whereas 38% are choosing a hybrid of linked cloud and on-premise.
• 68% are looking to use cloud collaboration within the business and between remote sites.

The time has come to get serious about the cloud -- as part of the continuum of solutions you use to manage information assets. 

The key? Focus on "managing the sync" between Systems of Record and Systems of Engagement.

5 Cloud Storage Features You Should Absolutely Insist On

Technology was supposed to make collaboration easier. But all too often, it just gets in the way. Do you often find yourself copying files to a share folder? Or dragging them to a dropbox? Or transferring them to a memory stick or miniSD card? Or emailing copies of files to yourself and your colleagues to make sure everyone has the most up-to-date version? It’s so much wasted time and effort—and it actually detracts from collaboration because it focuses your attention on the file, not the project. 

Removing Friction from Files

The technology for syncing files across all your devices and sharing (or publishing) them to large teams has evolved. And so should your expectations. If you are a business, here are 5 features your file sync and sharing solution should deliver right now so you focus on the task at hand and not your files. 

#1: Automated and Seamless Sync— So You Don’t Have to Think Ahead

You shouldn’t have to do anything, learn anything, plan anything, or change your behavior to ensure that your files are constantly synced, protected, and available to you and your colleagues. You shouldn’t have to drag-and-drop, check in or check out, or move files to a "file server in the cloud". It should all happen instantly and automatically, behind the scenes. If the file sync solutions you are evaluating force you to move files first, then the truth is you won't really have access to the files you need, when you need them the most.

Syncplicity allows each user to organize folders and files the way they want and automatically syncs all their files to the cloud every time a file is created or edited. That means that when you are on the road with your iPhone, iPad or Android device and are asked for the latest version of a document, you will always have it a click away.  

#2: Offline File Access

If you’re depending on a network connection to stay productive and in touch with your colleagues, sooner or later you’re in for heartbreak. Your file sharing solution should keep your files accessible and synced at all times—whether you’re at work, on the road, on the train home, or flying over flyover country—so that you never have to email yourself anything.

If you are planning on a web-based solution for file access or a system that always retrieves a file every time you access it (not true sync), your users will often find themselves without access to the files they need. 

#3: Read-Only Folder Permissions

If you have tried sharing files with a large group of people with consumer-oriented file sync solutions you've probably heard the chorus... "my files are disappearing" ... "where did that folder go"? While consumer tools are great for personal use or even very small teams, if you try to publish content to large teams you will create chaos. 

Syncplicity addresses this with access permissions on shared folders. By making a shared folder "read only" you can distribute files to large groups without the risk of individual users deleting files for everyone else. Need to publish sales collateral, price sheets, standard operating procedures and other potentially regulated content to large teams and on to all their devices? "Read Only" permissions are a must.  

#4: No File Size Limits

We’ve all experienced the hassle of trying to send a monstrous file to someone, only to receive the terse report that exceeds allowable limits. There are often no easy options: either break it into smaller pieces and send them individually as email attachments, or use an FTP site, or subscribe to a large-file transmission service, or, as a last-ditch option, put in on a CD and FedEx it.

Syncplicity has no file size limit or bandwidth restrictions, so there will be no need for cumbersome email attachments. You will be able to publish those huge PowerPoint presentations, webinar playbacks, video training sessions, and recorded meeting files securely and without alterations or performance degradation.

#5: Enterprise-grade Security

You want to be able to work and transact business anywhere, at any time. But with the freedoms of the mobile era come new threats to security that must be tamed. Your sync and file sharing solution should provide enterprise-grade security. At a minimum, it should provide:

• AES-256 encryption of data during transmission and at rest
• Policy controls for restricting account access to authorized devices and restricting external sharing, if company policy requires it
• Single Sign on (SSO) with Active Directory and other on-premise authorization approaches
• Data storage in geographically dispersed SAS70 Type II data centers using high redundancy storage
• 99.999999999% data durability
• Storage of encryption keys and data in separate data centers
• SSAE-16 (formerly SAS70 Type II) audits, verifying that the cloud provider’s data centers have met rigorous requirements around physical security, physical access, and internal controls
• Enterprise-grade mobile securty features such as on-device encrytpion, extra PIN codes, and remote-wipe 
• Syncplicity provides all of this and more! 

New File/Device Management Features and File Retention Policies

We are excited to announce several new features that enable businesses to better manage and control file sync and sharing in their business.

Syncplicity Folder and Device Management

Although file sync and sharing has been popular amongst consumers for many years, businesses face the challenge of how to enable users with the latest technology while gaining some control and visibility into multiple devices and folders that now contain business-critical files. Without the right administration features they lose visibility into all of the devices that hold company data and increase the cost and frustration of supporting users. For example, to optimize time management and productivity, they need to be able to make both individual and bulk modifications to specific devices and folders.

At the same time, in many businesses IT must have the ability to view and report which folders are being shared and which devices are synced to user accounts for compliance reasons.

With Syncplicity’s latest update, Admins can better manage all folders in a Syncplicity deployment and view all connected devices.

Syncplicity Folder Management enables Admins to:

• Create and review reports on all Syncplicity Shared folders with details such as “which folders are shared with which users and groups” 
• Change the Owner of a folder and add new Users and Groups to a Syncplicity Shared Folder and assign/modify their permissions (Reader/Collaborator)
• Remove Users and Groups from Syncplicity Shared Folders

Syncplicity Device Management enables Admins to:

• Create and review reports on all devices and services connected with their Syncplicity account 
• Monitor and manage devices based on owner, type, last connected date and Syncplicity client version.
• Remove and Remote Wipe (optional) any device 

Syncplicity File and Folder Retention Policy Management

Every time you change a file Syncplicity saves a new version of that file for you. Automatically. There is no drag-and-drop and no need to "check it in" to another system. Syncplicity automatically retains your past version history.  If you make a mistake or need to access an old version, it's there for you in the cloud. For our Business Edition customers we allow you to retain those files as long as you want... even forever.

Our customer have asked for more control over this process. Some want (and need) all of their files saved for a long period of time. Others have policies that require old files to be deleted at regular intervals for compliance reasons or just to optimize storage use. 

With our new File and Folder Retention Policies, Administrators can now set a default policy to control how long Syncplicity retains previous versions of files (file history) as well as how long we retain deleted files (in your trash can) before permanently deleting them. Admins can also set advanced retention policies to retain files and folders based on file or folder attributes such as type, name and size.

Tell Us What You Think

Both of these exciting new features are available immediately to all Syncplicity Business Edition users. As always, we would love your feedback!

The Syncplicity Team

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

Mobile Security: Syncplicity Has You Covered

Recently, we've received questions after it was revealed that that certain applications like Facebook and Dropbox leave user credentials and other data unencrypted on iOS and Android devices and as a result, information could be accessed if your device or synced computer is lost or stolen. 

Syncplicity has implemented a different security model for our mobile applications that protects you from this threat.

In summary, here is what was recently discovered about the other applications: 

Facebook, Dropbox iOS apps contain security hole that could allow identity theft

Facebook, Dropbox login credentials vulnerable to theft on iOS and Android 

Here is what Syncplicity does differently to protect your user credentials and data on both iOS and Android devices:

• We do not store a user’s password anywhere on mobile devices. 
• Access credentials are stored in a a private, encrypted area on both iOS and Android devices using the best-of-breed encryption techniques on each platform (e.g., iOS Keychain, Data Protection API, Private Shared Preferences, etc.).  
• In addition, we encrypt all cached documents on iOS and Android devices. 

In addition, we provide unique security features to secure your business data if a mobile device or any synced computer is lost or stolen:

• Both users and Admins can remote wipe Syncplicity account information and data from a mobile device or synced computer.
• Syncplicity offers an optional 4-digit pin code in addition to your device pin code to provide an extra layer of protection if a device is stolen. 10 failures will automatically wipe the account and data off of the mobile device. 
• The mobile device abides by all centralized policies for sharing files and folders inside or outside your organization/account (Business Edition users). 
• If your organization is heavily restrictive on use of mobile devices, Syncplicity can be configured to not allow your users to access their business account from their mobile devices (Business Edition users). 

Syncplicity takes great pride in the effort we've invested in our security, control and administration features, both for mobile device security and for protection of all the data. We wanted to make sure you were aware of these protections.

The Syncplicity Team

Securing Data in the Cloud: 10 Questions to Ask Your Cloud Provider

Download our latest white paper that discusses key aspects of protecting your data in the cloud, and gives you 10 key questions you should ask before moving your files and documents to a cloud storage, sync or sharing solution.

Not all services are alike. In this paper we outline the key security-related issues you should consider to protect your company. 

Topics include:

• Why Move to the Cloud? Learn why businesses are moving rapidly to cloud-based solutions for document access, collaboration and mobility
• Cloud Security: What Matters Learn about cloud security technology, processes and controls.
• 10 Questions You Need to Ask Your Vendor...and the answers you should expect to make sure your business is protected

Download White Paper

About the Author

Leonard Chung is co-founder and Chief Product Strategist of Syncplicity. Leonard’s career includes years at Microsoft working on innovative cloud architectures and data management solutions in the early days of cloud computing. This included BIG (Billions of Internet Gizmos), an ambitious project to build an end-to-end automated development, provisioning, and management system to manage super-scale cloud services.

Prior to Microsoft, Leonard distinguished himself at IBM as one of only 70 technologists in North America selected for the company’s prestigious Extreme Blue program. Earlier in his career Leonard was granted a Sun Fellowship award and worked on SETI@home, the largest distributed computing project ever launched, with 5.2 million participants and more than 2 million years of aggregate computing time to date.

Leonard received a B.A. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley.