Syncplicity

Tip of the Week: Moving Your On-Premise File Servers to the Cloud

Do you already have an investment in on-premise file servers for storage and backup (a corporate "share" drive)? If so, you know the benefit of providing users with a shared area for saving and exchanging files.

But how easy is it for users to access? Do your users have to map drives to the file server? Do they have to authenticate every time they want to access data? Do they need to access your servers with a VPN when not on the corporate network?

There is an easy way around those hassles! With Syncplicity you can automatically sync the contents of on-premise shared drives ("Corporate Share Folders") to the cloud and make it easy for users to access files and folders on all of their computers and mobile devices. Here's what you get:

• Access to files and folders on a shared file server without mapping drives, re-authenticating or requiring a VPN.
• Automatic offline access to files and folders. Your users can work on files when they have no network connectivity and changes will be automatically synced back to the file server when the user goes online (no need to drag and drop!).
• Automatic backup of every file every time a file changes, with the ability to recover those files as-needed. No need to rely on daily backups or cumbersome restore processes.
• You'll still be able to store files on your on-premise file servers because Syncplicity will keep them in sync. You can have Syncplicity co-exist with an on-premise file server!

Here's how you set up Syncplicity to sync your on-premise file servers to the cloud:

1. Create an "Corporate Share" Admin Account on Syncplicity Business Edition specifically for "owning" and managing the corporate file sever. This account should be different from your primary Syncplicity Admin account.
2. Connect to the file server that owns the folder hierarchies you want to share using a Remote Desktop Connection.
3. Install Syncplicity on the file server and log on to using the "Corporate Share" Admin Account.
4. Find the folders on the on-premise file server you want to share using the Syncplicity client (Windows) or your Finder (Mac).
5. Right click on the top-level folders and select "Share With Others". This will take you to the My Syncplicity website (Mac users) or to the Syncplicity Windows Client (Windows users) to select a user to share with. You should share the folders with your primary Syncplicity Admin account.
6. Once this is done, the folders you selected will all be uploaded to Syncplicity.
7. Disconnect the Remote Desktop from the server. Do not log off, just disconnect!

To add new users to the new Syncplicity "Corporate Share":

1. Go to https://my.syncplicity.com and log on using the "Corporate Share" Admin Account that was set up to sync the on-premise file servers.
2. Go to the "Console" tab.
3. Select "Manage Users".
4. Select the user that you wish to add to the corporate shared folders.
5. Scroll down until you see "Joined Folders" and select "Manage".
6. You will now see a list of all shared folders in the Syncplicity Business Edition Account. From here, you can give your new user access to the shared corporate folders. Simply find the folders from the on-premise file server and set the permission level ("Collaborator" = Read/Write access, "Reader" = Read Only access).
7. The user will then receive an invitation to download the corporate shared folders. Once they are downloaded the user will have access to the files and folders stored on the on-premise file servers, even if offline or on a mobile device!

Important: If the server connected to your on-premise file storage is re-started you should reconnect using a remote desktop and log back on to Syncplicity. This will allows any changes users made to the corporate share folders (which are already stored and safe in Syncplicity!) to sync back to the file server.  It's important to note that if this is not done, users still have access to their files, can make changes, and have those changes shared with other users! 

Do you want to remove your on-premise file servers completely?

Follow the steps above and once you are sharing the corporate folders with users, simply remove the on-premise file servers! Yep! You heard us right. Disconnect them if you want! All of the files and folders are stored, accessible and backed up on Syncplicity! Simply use the new Admin Account to grant access to the folders to new users or remove access when users leave. Your corporate share folders are now completely in the cloud. 

Questions? Contact us and we'll be happy to help you get set up.

The Power of "Unsave"

We spend a lot of time worrying about recovering files we’ve deleted. But what about recovering files we’ve “Saved” accidentally?

It's ironic that clicking “Save”, an action that, by definition, is supposed to keep your data safe, is actually one of the most destructive acts that you can do to your files. When you save a file, the original file is deleted and a new one takes its place. But what if you made a mistake in saving and the original file is what you really wanted?

“Tough luck” and “be more careful” next time has traditionally been the answer!

Unlike the feared “Delete”, saving is easy and almost second nature. There are no safeguards, no warning dialogs, no trash can or recycle bin to recover from, and no recovery/undo if something goes wrong. Backups can help you get back a file version from one month, one week, or one day ago. But they can't help you with getting back a file version from one second ago. This is unfortunate as it is often a number of seconds that make the difference between making a terrible mistake that you can’t recover from.

Many years ago in 2007 when we were first starting Syncplicity, I remember being at a Kinko's at 4am creating packets for our first fund raising round. Raising money is a paperwork intensive process with lots of legal details that have to be followed to the letter. One of these details was ensuring each complicated packet was identical except for a unique tracking number. Attention to small, menial details doesn't generally pair well with sleep deprivation. This night was no exception.

After about an hour and a half of work, to my horror I realized I had been opening the same files but instead of doing a “Save As” to save each edited copy with its own unique name, at some point in the night I had just been clicking “Save”. I had been losing the entire copy of each unique packet as well as its unique tracking code. At that time of night it would have been impossible to repeat all the work.

After a moment of panic, I also remembered I was running an early version of Syncplicity! Because of its realtime sync and continuous data protection, with just a few clicks I was able to retrieve and rename every version of every file for every packet I had been creating. In minutes. Disaster averted!

If I wasn't running Syncplicity at the time, I would have been in deep trouble even with the best of breed backup software of the day.

Given how often people make the mistake of saving, we built Syncplicity to not just give you access to your files on all your computers and mobile devices, but also to help make your computer a more forgiving place to prevent one of the most common forms of data loss. Which, if you're like me, means you get to sleep a little better, and a little longer, at night!

Has something similar happened to you?

Leonard Chung
Co-Founder and Chief Product Strategist

Tip of the Week: Controlling File Access Outside Your Business

All of us have more computers and devices than ever before: work computers, home computers, smart phones, tablets, etc. We need to have our files and folders available whenever and wherever we need them. And we need to share those files with more and more people to get our work done.

File management solutions that utilize cloud storage to sync files to user's devices and allow them to share files and folders with others are widely used by consumers and quickly becoming mission-critical for business users.

As a result, IT staff have a dilemma. How do you satisfy your users while keeping your business safe from exposure of confidential information, protecting your intellectual property, and maintaining control over corporate data?

With Syncplicity Business Edition you can give your users all the power of a leading cloud-based storage, sync, mobile access, sharing and backup solution, with the controls your business requires.

Syncplicity allows you to restrict users from sharing folders and sending files (via Shareable Links) to people who are outside your organization using two of our many permission settings and controls.

With these features, IT Administrators can:

• Allow or disallow sharing of folders between employees and anyone outside the business
• Allow or disallow download of files via Shareable Links by users outside the organization

These settings are available under "Set Organizational Policy" option in your Syncplicity Administration Console.

If you are an IT Administrator and have users with Syncplicity Personal Edition, but would like to utilize these these controls for your business, contact us to discuss ways to upgrade to Syncplicity Business Edition. Or simply try Syncplicity Business Edition for free by registering for a trial or upgrading your existing account!

File Sync vs. Access

One of the most common questions we hear is "What is the difference between Sync and Access?"

And... "Why do we sync with one type of client such as a Mac or PC while providing integrated access on another such as Salesforce, the iPad or the iPhone?"

They're great questions that we think a lot about every time we add something new to the Syncplicity Virtual Private Cloud.

The simple answer is this: Sync and Access, while related, are very different. Both provide a single, unified view of your files but go about it in different ways. Here are some of the differences:

Sync	Access
Copies of files and folders replicated to each synced location	Files and folders exist only in the cloud until they are needed locally
Files are instantly pushed to each synced location as files are created and changed	Files retrieved on-demand as they are opened
All files available offline	Only previously downloaded files available offline
Automatic backup of all file changes	User must manually upload or save updated files
Can require significant bandwidth, memory, and processing power	Resource needs are minimal

When we look at each new platform to support, as part of the process the team takes into consideration how users will use that platform and its capabilities. Syncing requires more resources but can provide a more seamless experience, particularly on platforms with a native file system. Access is generally a better choice for systems with limitations due to storage, cost or capability.

For example, while developing the native iPhone app, sync was technically feasible, but we ended up deciding upon providing a rich access experience due to the overriding concerns of battery life, bandwidth, and storage. Pushing an entire document library or a 10MB PowerPoint that a coworker may be editing repeatedly over the cell network would quickly drain a battery and eat into your data package! That would cost you a lot of money and create a poor user experience compared providing on-demand access and only downloading files that are requested.

On the other hand, with our Google Docs and Sharepoint integrations, we elected to go with a sync solution. Since both systems are running on servers, resource limitations aren't a concern and by replicating files to each of the two platforms users gain all of the benefits of each such as leveraging their built-in search and editing capabilities for existing files.

Since Syncplicity supports everything from smartphones to desktops to file servers to other cloud applications, we have not taken a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we leverage the power of each device and platform natively. That way, we and our partners can deliver the best experience for our users no matter where they are or what device (or cloud app) they are using!

Updated Syncplicity Apps for iPhone and iPad Now Available!

You can now download the latest Syncplicity iPhone and iPad Apps! New features include:

• Support for the new iPhone 4S and other Apple devices running Apple’s newest mobile operating system, iOS 5.
• A quick preview thumbnail appears next to all images and photos in the "Files" tab.
• New advanced data protection! You can configure Syncplicity to require a 4-digit passcode before it starts up; if the passcode is entered incorrectly 10 times your Syncplicity data will be wiped from the device!
• You can now view a list of all mobile devices linked to your account on your My Syncplicity portal. Lost or misplaced devices can now be individually unlinked from your account and you can remotely wipe the Syncplicity data.
• We've made dozens of other performance improvements and UI enhancements throughout the application.

These features build on numerous capabilities launched earlier this year:

• Work with ease using our 100% native user interface (it's not a mobile web app)
• Open any file or folder in your Syncplicity account, including folders shared to you by others
• Upload photos and videos taken on your iPhone or iPad to any folder. They will be automatically synced to your other computers and shared with friends and colleagues. and you don't need to dock your device!
• Share any file, of any size, with anyone directly from your iPhone or iPad. You can send a "Shareable Link" via email or SMS so a file can be downloaded without sending large email attachments. Just send the link!
• Go back in time with full access to previous versions of files from your iPhone or iPad
• Stay up-to-date with your News Feed – all events in your account listed in chronological order
• Rest easy with end-to-end security – Syncplicity transmits and stores all data encrypted with AES-256 protection

Are you already using Syncplicity on your iPhone or iPad? Just go to the Apple iTunes Store on your device to get upgraded. We'd love to hear your comments below. Or better yet, write a review for us on the iTunes Store! Don't have Syncplicity for your iPhone or iPad yet? Click here to install.

More Storage – Same Price, Limited Time!

Times are tough and it’s no secret there’s pressure on all of us to be more efficient at work and at home. With that in mind, Syncplicity would like to help. That’s why we're so thrilled to announce a limited time promotion: sign up for a yearly account with us and get 100GB of storage for only $99.00 for the first year! That’s right, this means you can get twice as much space for sharing, syncing, backup, and anything else you like to do with Syncplicity, and pay no more than you would for our regular 50GB account! If you don’t already have a Syncplicity account, browse over to http://www.syncplicity.com/promo and create one now. If you already do, but you’d like to take advantage of this offer and upgrade to an annual plan, just visit https://my.syncplicity.com/promo. This promotion ends July 2009. Did you know Syncplicity is on Twitter? If you’d like to be the first to hear about announcements like this in the future and stay up-to-date on what’s happening with the Syncplicity team, follow us @ http://twitter.com/syncplicity. Thanks for your support! The Syncplicity Team